Fading Future
by Marine is hope2
Summary: The Black Order collapsed, and that final battle was the last that anyone ever seen or heard from the Head-General Allen Walker again. Though one last prophecy was forgotten, perhaps it is now the most important of all: the Crown-Clown's heir.
1. Lost and Found

_Building crashed and crumbled as the once populated and beautiful city of London became nothing more than rubble. Bullets that came from demons of both the land and sky tore through people and structures alike. Quakes shook the earth while fire colored the night sky a hideous scarlet... how fitting for all of the blood that was being shed. The few that still remained in this now-hell where retreating as fast as they could: mothers screaming for their children, children crying for their mothers. The few that stood against these squadrons from Hell were being overwhelmed quickly, and were slowly being pushed back to their final limits. Their leader, a man of twenty or so years, who was cloaked with a tattered white cape and shining silver hair, turned to his comrades who where still fighting desperate _

_A young Asian woman of about the same age as the General tailed him from the sky, aiding him whenever demons, or Akuma, as they called them, swarmed too thickly around her leader or began to overwhelm him. She looked around noting that the few that were still standing were falling as quickly as flies. She saw, with relief, that both a red-haired man and another Asian man were still fighting. The red-head was controlling what seemed to be a column of flames molded into the form of a snake and the Asian's blade glowed with a blue aura for a moment before traveling up his arm and down the other to create another shining blade. They both were defending the body of a boy, who looked to be only twelve or so years of age. He seemed to be unconscious but there was a strange beast flying at the creatures around the other two, radiating a feeling of blood-lust, not for the human prey below but for its own kin. _

_A blond haired man rushed past the Leader his once regal clothes in tatters, his normally well hidden blades were switched out of his now dirt-stained silken sleeves, glinting red in the bloody light. Shield cards flew from his hands as spells, collecting on several of the monsters and exploding or suddenly becoming an asset and covering the fallen and beginning to heal them. He gazed at the silver haired man with cool determination and the general nodded, slowly and tiredly, pain both emotional and physical covering his pale features _

_Then seeing no other option he motioned for the battered group to retreat as he flicked his palm upward, opening a portal to another world. A safe haven. A city of white buildings undaunted by the sight of destruction that they were being shown. It was a Heaven in the middle of a Hell. _

_A small golden orb was fluttering around the Followers' heads forcing them to notice the escape that the man had chosen. The Asian man attempted to bat it away with his shining blades, not wishing to leave after he had fought so hard to defend what he had. He soon simply ignored it and it moved on to another, its wings beating frantically. _

_The only woman that was still fighting was flying around gracefully in the sky watching them all retreat safely before she herself allowed herself to depart to her Leader… her one and only comfort in that darkening world. Though, she quickly turned as demented chuckling lit the air as if to be fuel to the already searing flames that covered the landscape. _

_The crew looked up to see a figure appear on the horizon, floating down gently to the earth via a small umbrella. All the groups' faces twisted in fury as the looked at the man. From his silk, cream-colored coat to his ever present smile: every single part of him they hated. He was the antagonist in their ever changing play; he was the one that tore through their lives leaving so much death and destruction that they molded themselves into soldiers in an attempt to stop him in his tracks. If only it had worked like that. _

_Anger seared in all of the Soldiers of God's' hearts as they gazed at the man's fading figure though the Leader simply forced himself to turn away and began to make his way to the entrance of the ark that would save their lives. He refused to lose anymore of his comrades, his only true family for that matter. An African man was the first to reach the ark and in his hands was a limp from of a brown haired woman, though if you looked closely you could see that her bloody tunic still rose and fell faintly with every breath that she willed to enter and exit her lungs. The demon that had been devouring its own suddenly burst to sand and the brown haired youth awoke suddenly and without a moment to rest the Red-haired man grabbed him by the collar and called to the other male desperately, wanting for him, too, to follow; though for a moment the Japanese man faltered, his cobalt eyes glinting like the steel of his swords, before slowly trudging after his companions. Though that was only after he had sent a wave of terrifying other-worldly creatures at the remaining level threes knocking them back and startling a few. _

_Though as the Leader followed the rest he looked at the Asian woman who was gazing at a certain spot of wreckage that they all knew too well, for it was their home once, its awe-ingly magnificent walls were crushed to dust, they knew that the brave folk that had chosen to protect it had not gone down without a fight, though in the end it had not been enough. The Black Order had shattered. It was now only words on the paper that the red-haired man used to keep track of the history. _

_The few looked on as their home lit with the burning flames like the entire city. They remembered the other Generals, who had refused to leave, despite their student's near begging. Two men and one woman, both wonderful fighters. Slowly thoughts of the others flowed into their minds; the friends that they had lost when they had chose to go and attempt to fight the demons head on instead of staying behind to guard the fortress and their Masters. They knew nothing of the Thirds, nor of any of the finders… or the scientists. _

_The Chief had gone down before the battle had truly began in a chemical explosion, the Section Leader had fallen second when the Akuma shields broke and he was in the firing line. _

_The Asian woman looked at the burning wreckage with tears beginning to flow down her faces for they all knew that she would never see her brother, the only remaining relative she had left, again. The Leader turned to the blond haired man who was gazing off in to the distance with emotionally veiled eyes. He could never believe that he had once thought the man an annoyance, for he turned into a very valuable fighter. One that the General trusted with his life. _

_Slowly, he turned to look back at the city, its charred ruins, and slowly gave his group a smile. It was his defense mechanism, a way to prove to those around him that all would be fine. It was a mask to hide the feelings of terror that shook his body, as he turned away. The Asian woman reached out as if to halt him, though he smiled at her sadly before walking away, drawing a long broadsword, watching as it glinted with the light that only weapons of the angels could muster. He stood there a shining symbol of resistance as the portal closed and the Japanese man was forced to hold the woman back as she thrashed to get to the only man that she had ever loved. A piercing wail broke the air as she was sealed away from danger and there was only one figure standing against the upcoming darkness. _

_This was an act of resistance, but also a sign for the future. It said that no matter how much darkness and hatred riddled the world, there would always be a shining hand to fight for the light, no matter how hopeless it seemed. That was the reason that he had chose to stay, chose to fight. He cared not if it led to his own death as long as he sent that message to the Devil's Steward. _

_That was the last time that anyone saw Allen Walker, last remaining Head-General of the Black Order, alive. _

_The Innocence was lost, and the few that remained with the holy stone in their blood scattered across the world, in a vain attempt to create a home for themselves. Eventually everyone forgot the meaning of the word Rose Cross. The Innocence remained dormant, and for a time the demons of death stilled as well. _

_But there would be a time that the world would need a savior, and when that happened, one would remember: that the Holy stone was simply forgotten, not lost. The Crown Clown Innocence was not dead, oh no, for they had left out an important piece: the General's heir. _

_That being would be the one, the one who would lead the next war against the Earl and his minions when the call was needed. _

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Bye guys!" I called and turned to wave to Minnie and Alastair's retreating forms. Their black curls bouncing as they laughed goodbye to me and I walked into my home.

"MOM! I'm home!" I called, and immediately followed my nose to the kitchen where the scent of garlic and tomatoes wafted from like a heavenly aroma.

There was my oh so beloved mother, watching as the stew softly bubbled on the stove, every so often stirring the mixture with a gentle smile on her pale face, her short, Asian black hair falling down from its loose bounds.

"Elena." She said happily and embraced my lovingly, "How was school?"

I cringed immediately, and the Parent-Teacher–Conference slip in my pocket felt like a pound of lead. Chewing my lip softly I attempted to come up with something that would make, blowing up an entire chemistry lab not sound as bad as it truly was.

"Uhhhh… Well ya see~" I started and that was all that she needed, for she turned to me, her hands on her hips, her delicate features twisted into a scowl.

"What did you do today?" a familiar stern but not uncaring voice called, and I found my heart drop. There was no way that I could escape now.

"Heh... hi, Uncle Link." There was my 'Uncle' as I called him, simply staring at me with his calculating blue eyes squinted. The fact that there were accounting books in his hands told me that I had chose the possibly worst time to come home, 'cause when my uncle had to check house's bills he was normally in a very, very, bad mood for the rest of the day.

"Let me see it." he commanded, and I shakily handed him the piece of paper from my pocket. Immediately after reading it, his face darkened.

"Elena." He muttered, and immediately I began to babble, "It wasn't my fault! Besides it isn't a expulsion yet! I-I didn't know that mystery element was sulfur, so I just added it with a little water! I didn't know that putting them together would cause them to react, and, and... and I'll go to my room." I finished sulkily and trudged from the room dragging my feet.

As I got to my room I closed the door quietly, and turned to my horribly messy room. It wasn't that I didn't clean it, I did... and that was the sad part.

Shuffling through papers I found the small box that I was looking for. A small mahogany cube with golden hinges and a strange symbol that looked suspiciously like a music note tensile in gold paint adorned the top.

Opening the small lid a bunch of metallic shards came to view, surrounding an orb-like creature with half-finished wings and tiny horns. This had been my main project for about a month now, ever since I had found the box in the corner of the attic tucked away under some old science textbooks.

For some strange reason it had caught my attention and sparked my stubbornness when I realized that it was probably unsalvageable. Uncle Link said that I got not only my looks from my father but his pure thick-headedness, which often got me into trouble seeing as it went hand in hand with my natural curiosity for anything that had to do with science... more specifically chemicals... or any other things that go 'boom'.

Frowning, I placed another metal feather on the tip of the wing: my father...

From what I had learned a long time ago he was killed before I was born. Other than that and the fact that I looked and acted a lot like him I never heard anymore about him.

I hated not knowing things, at one point I went through the entire attic space searching for information about that mystery man. That was until Uncle Link found me, and I had never seen his scowl so deep. That's the thing about Uncle Link: he didn't ever raise his voice to yell at me, he wrote it down in a book that he kept in his room.

I hated not knowing things, at one point I went through the entire attic space searching for information about that mystery man. That was until Uncle Link found me, and I had never seen his scowl so deep. That's the thing about Uncle Link: he didn't ever raise his voice to yell at me, he wrote it down in a book that he kept in his room. He was my favorite 'Uncle' and no matter what I didn't want him to leave like Uncle Bookman did. I don't want to see Mom cry like that again.

Looking down I noticed that there were only three small pieces left to the little winged-thingy. Slowly I placed the last feather on, and followed with the small limb that looked like a leg, and lastly placed the last horn on to its tiny head.

I nearly screamed, for after a moment, it gave a feeble twitch and then rose so that it was eye-to-cross with me. Okay, screw the 'nearly': I did scream, and luckily no one heard me because the thing bonked me on the forehead, crying from non existent eyes, and then began to chew fondly on my hair.

After chasing it for about ten minutes I grabbed it and flipping it over, desperate to find an off switch, but to my horror there was nothing except a gold little belly.

"Oh, my, god, what the hell are you?" I said, and using its mouth like a hand, it grabbed a pencil off my desk and floated over to a piece of paper and wrote in scratchy handwriting 'T.I.M.C.A.M.P.Y.'

"Timcampy? Is that your name?" I asked and it nodded, before going back to buzzing around my room, which I was fine with until it began to chew on my curtains.

"HEY, stop that!" I yelled and we were soon in a tug of war with my lace curtains, until I jerked back and sent the poor thing flying until it hit the opposite wall.

All of a sudden it started buzzing, and suddenly opening it mouth it acted like a projector.

_A young woman came in to a shaky view, her short dark hair sprayed with brown mud and something that looked suspiciously like... blood? She trashed against a young raven haired Asian man, attempting desperately to get to a portal that was closing. The city beyond the gateway was burning and seemed to be utterly in ruins. Though that was true she desperately attempted to get back, and he held fast to her, forcing her back. They weren't alone, for around them was a group of five others. They all seemed barely able to stand, wounded and ragged. _

_"KANDA! LET ME GO!" She shrieked, tears streaming down her face from her reddening eyes. _

_"No." _

_"PLEASE! WE CAN STILL GET BACK TO HIM!" She shook violently as the gate to that place suddenly closed, and she seemed for a moment to be in shock before she jerked back, and with all her might punched him across the jaw bone and took off running, as the others called after her. _

_She continued until she couldn't she simply couldn't go on and finally collapsed in a heap. When a pale hand reach out to her, "Come Ms. Lee, we must find the rest of the group." She looked up to find herself looking at the blond haired man. _

_"Come Ms. Lee, the group is looking for you." He whispered, his normally cool voice attempting to be considerate, though the young woman simply stayed where she knelt. _

_The man turned away, "You are planning on keeping the child." It wasn't a question, and she looked at him with startled eyes, before he continued, "Walker told me before we entered the battle:he told me to watch over you seeing as I am supposed to follow his movements, and if he was to die the person that he wished for me to inspect was his child." _

_The woman gave a watery smile, "You don't seem too happy about it." _

_"Him leaving to go and fight on his own interrupted my duties as his inspector. I now have no choice but to follow through with his plan and continue watching you." _

The projector suddenly shut off, and Timcampy flew over to me, though I barely noticed. I was too stunned to utter a word. That woman in that picture was... no is, my own mother, and that blond man was more that likely my Uncle Link. What had they been doing to get themselves that beat up? What had happened to my dad? Who were those people that were with them?

What was going on?

"Elena! FOR THE LAST TIME IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!" My uncle's furious yell came from outside my door, which I had forgotten to unlock. He seemed to be out there for a long time, but it was the first time that I had heard him. Suddenly the brass door nob slid out of it's respective hole and fell to the floor with a 'clank'. There stood my down right furious Uncle, something shiny in his left hand... no it was attached inside his work shirt.

"Holy Shit! MOM, UNCLE LINK HAS A SWITCHBLADE!" I continued screaming that all the way down stairs, thankfully Tim stayed rightfully on my room, hiding.

In the middle of dinner the doorbell rang, and slowly Mom got up, a twinge of annoyance on her oriental features, "Who in their right minds would come over at this time of night?" She asked to us, and looked directly at me.

I raised my hands in surrender, "I told Minny not to come after eight, I swear it." The bell at that moment rang again and Mom walked out of the room with an, "I'm coming!"

It was only a moment after that, that she gave a very startled cry, and a gruff voice said, "Do you have to do that every time that I come here?"

Uncle Link turned as my mom stuttered, "B-But you haven't b-been here in... five years!"

"Elena, go upstairs." my mom's friend said sternly, and I immediately began to argue, though I was soon going up the stairs at one look in his eyes. Though half way to my room I stopped and saw that he wasn't looking at me, but at an Asian man. I held back a scream, seeing at that man was the very one in the projection that had held back my mother. Immediately anger began to burn in my stomach, for this man was the one that had allowed my father to die alone and without any aid.

His pale face was cool and stony like marble, his long raven black hair was placed in a painfully high ponytail at the top of his head. His colbat eyes flitted around the kitchen. A strange sword rested against his back. A torn black coat rested on his shoulders. He looked worn from travel but instinctively alert.

"Where is the girl?" he asked slowly, as if he had forced it past his lips.

"I sent her upstairs, why are you here?" Uncle Link asked, and the man nodded, "Akuma are being sighted in Japan and much of Europe. They seem to be heading here."

"What, here, you mean as in they are~"

"Yes Lena, they are coming for your family... and Marie's. I was forced to fight them at the crossing into Britain. They've come back in full force."

"The what can we~"

"Fight." He said solemnly cutting her off, and she looked at him with terror filled eyes, before backing away.

"N-no, I haven't even used them ever sinc~"

"It is either that or we all die. There's at least ten level fours on their way to kill you right now."

"But..." she seemed to struggle in an internal battle before turning to face the window, lost in thought for a moment, "Kanda, I think that you remember that I swore to never use them again unless it is for an absolutely dire emergency."

"This is an emergency Lena, it's either we fight or this entire city gets wiped out again."

I frowned in confusion... what did this guy mean? Why did he want to fight what ever it was that they were fighting.

Suddenly I noticed a flash of gold, and immediately I attempted to grabbed the excited ball of gold that buzzed by my shoulder with speed I barely knew it could contain.

"Wait!" I called and raced down the stairs after, "TIM...campy." I watched in a mixture of shock and horror as he collided with the Asian man's head with as much force he could muster. Well, apparently I wasn't the only person that didn't like this man.

* * *

So, like it, hate it? I'm not sure on whether or not to continue this, but give me your opinion and I'll get back to you!

Please review! It'll make me happy!

Marine :)


	2. Reawakening

Thank you for all the reviews!! Wow five already!(Does the Happy Dance)

Thank you for all of your opinions, especially _Grawzilla_,_ 0Infinity0_, _addenza_, _Mesonoxian_, and _Silver Souhait._

Please Enjoy!

* * *

The room was silent, Uncle Link's face was an unnatural shade of pasty white, Mom was tearing up at the sight of my newest… friend, and Mr. Kanda looked like he was not only about to murder Tim brutally but also me. Why me, I had no clue. I simply waited for the inevitable explosion as the shock slowly wore away.

Sure enough, the explosion was sudden, "WHAT THE HELL?!" I flinched noticeable, as the Asian man suddenly burst with so much venom in his voice that he could simply hiss angrily. I seriously thought that he was going to slice my little experimental result in half. Tim had the right idea to fly behind me, and I believe that I had the right idea to fling myself behind Uncle Link, who hadn't seemed to snap back to reality yet.

All of a sudden mom burst into unexplained tears and rushed out of the room, and Uncle Link followed not looking back at me once.

So now I was left all alone with Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass. Great, just what I need.

Mr. Kanda simply crossed his arms and leaned against the cabinet, though there was something about him that seemed anxious, he was both relaxed and taunt at the same time. I noted that he had a white knuckled grasp on his sword, his right thumb pressed to the sheath's edge, ready to force the blade to show if needed.

His clothes were once regal perhaps, the strange trench coat that he wore was a mix of ruby red and the light brown of mud and dirt. A strange cross like symbol gleamed over his heart. Though dirty it shone like silver, and I barely made out the faint embroidery, _Rose Cross_? What was that?

Suddenly he started, and snarled, "Where are they?" there was anger in his voice, that covered a slight tint of something else... worry? Concern? If it were ether of those two it would have been the first time that I heard any emotion beside anger and annoyance in his voice.

... Perhaps he simply wore a mask: like Uncle Bookman did when he was angered, though instead of a mask of happiness and cheer, his was a mask of anger that faded into a permanent skin that he was unable to take off.

"Where are whom?" I asked, and he looked at me with cold black eyes, and simply turned away with a barely audible, "Che."

"Great, I asked a simply question and you turn away, that's not very nice Auntie." Colbat eyes whipped around to look at me in shock, then molding to anger, "What did you just say?" he growled, and I let back a scoffing laugh: this man was too fun to tease.

"A-U-N-T-I-E Kanda." I sang slowly dragging the letters rolling my tongue and willing each to form itself like its own syllable.

He looked like he wanted to kill me, downright murder me, though he seemed to catch himself as he drew his sword, and turned away with an audible, "Che."

Soon the quiet simply settled around us once again, so you could have heard a pen drop from upstairs.

I wanted to say something that would break the silence, even if it had to be directed to a man that I barely knew.

Opening my mouth I went to speak, when the man charged at me, and threw me against the wall as the roof of the house burst, and strange shaped bullets hailed into our kitchen.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"M-Mr. Kanda?" I whispered as the smoke filled the air, and suddenly a flash of blue blinded me. Out of the rubble of the ceiling, my mother's Japanese friend flew up with inhuman grace, and drew his sword, which I knew to be a katana. Slowly, he ran his index and middle finger through the back of the blade and muttered a soft, "_Mugen Unsheathe, Innocence Activate."_ The black sword suddenly shone with a thin and precise edge.

Still in the air, the man opened his black eyes, and flashing the steely blade cried, "_Kaichū: Ichigen!" _A swarm of what looked to be devious-looking insects appeared from the katana's silver blade. Ducking my head, I noticed that the insects had created an even larger hole in the roof.

"HEY! BE CAREFUL! UNCLE LINK JUST FINISHED PAYING OFF THE DEBTS TO THE LAST TIME THAT _I _DID THAT!" Mr. Kanda just looked at me with cool eyes before turning back to the battle at hand, and I raced into the other room where I had last seen my mother disappear to… only to be crushed by the weight of two other people landing on me.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Owww…" a low voice muttered and it was soon followed by the sound of a girl's moan.

"That is the last time that I listen to any of your ideas."

"Look, I wasn't the one who suggested that we go and look for him." The male's voice snapped slightly irritated.

"Well, _now_ you say that… after we crash in through the roof!"

"GET OFF ME!!" I literally seethed, and the weight on my back jumped and lightened as they began to peel away the rubble of my poor home. Soon I was looking into an inquisitive duo of eyes, one a feminine pair of dark navy, and the other a deep set of rusty brown.

"Oh see, now look what you did! Not only did we destroy these peoples' wonderful home but we also landed on one of them!" The girl said to the boy, who snapped his head up to look at her, and stuck his tongue out childishly, before turning back to me with concerned rusty eyes.

"Are you alright? He asked and slowly I shook my head, still not caught up with this entire random-people-bursting-into-my-home-thing.

"No, I need to find my mom, so if you could move that would be very nice." Both of them shrugged and turned to me, nodding.

"Sure thing, we saw two people in the…" the girl trailed off, before turning to a now fuming older Asian, "IF YOU TWO DON'T GET TO WORK AND HELP, BY GOD I AM GOING TO SLICE YOU BOTH WITH MUGEN!"

Both once again startled and nodded to the man, and nodded, the girl bowing low, so that her long, loosly-bound, dark brown hair hung in a curtain around her face.

Then turning to the oncoming monster-things the girl closed her eyes and muttered, "_Innocence Activate,_ _Sang-Noir_." Only then did I notice the cross-shaped cut that was on her palm and springing forward, she cried, "_Affilez_!"

Suddenly blood seemed to rush from the wound and sharpen into a jagged spear-shape lance. I screamed.

"Always one for a show aren't you, Chéri?" The boy muttered in a smug voice, and the girl looked at him with aggravated eyes.

"Talk to me in that tone one more time, I dare you." She seethed darkly, pointing the spear thing at him, though he simply shrugged, and giving me a hand up, he pushed me in the direction that I was originally going in the first place… before I ran into the two of them.

Only after I was away from them did I hear the boy call out, _"Innocence Activate_, _Tarjetas Santas__!" _

"I'll deal with those weirdos later." I muttered venomously to Timcampy, who simply fluttered by my side, as I raced outside. Though not before another explosion shattered my mind, sending glass shards flying, cutting my arms and legs. Smoke and pain blurred my mind, as I continued to race to the dim light that was coming from the full January night moon.

The moment that I raced into the so called, "Great Outdoors." The smell of smoke filled my lungs, and my eyes immediately began to water. The fog that entered my body seemed to stay there clawing at my lungs. Holding my breath, I looked around, hoping for a familiar face, anyone's.

Suddenly a childish laughter filled my ears, and I looked around, only to see the rubble of my home.

"Uncle?! Mom?!" I called, though the frantic giggles only increased, and I found myself looking at what looked to be a white, deformed… kid... wait a god damning moment: since when did little kids have wings, or for that matter a large red pentacle on their heads?

"What the h~" I was cut off mid sentence, as the 'kid's' hands turned into strange machine guns.

"Holy Shit." I breathed and darted out of the way, as a rain of bullets came crashing down on me.

"Okay! THAT IS SO NOT COOL!" I yelled as it continued to shoot, and of course I continued to dodge (Thank god for those gymnastic lessons my mom forced me to go to.)

'_If you wish for it to stop you must fight_.' A strange voice seemed to ring in my ears, as I quickly did a double take, only to find the demon still attempting to kill me, shooting with precise accuracy. Quickly dodging I raced against into the trees near the ruins of my once beautiful house.

...You know, at the time, I barely cared at the fact that my house was in shambles, or about the fact that there were three strangers that I didn't know in said house. The facts that my lungs were burning from lack of oxygen, or the truth that there were multiple cuts from the rubble on my body barely seemed to cross my mind.

Yeah that is the miracle of adrenaline for ya.

The only two thoughts that were running around in my frantic mind were to find my parental units, and to get the heck away from the little kid that was shooting bullets at me. That last part was harder than it sounded, 'cause that little white guy was fast. And that was coming from a girl who could out run her mother, who used to be a track star.

Suddenly I hit the one thing that I had been attempting to avoid: a fence. In other words a dead end.

Turning I found myself nearly face to face with my persecutor, his white mouth twisted into a sadistic grin, as he lifted up his hands, and broke into frantic giggles. I saw his red eyes glinting with nothing but pleasure.

Though I wasn't scared as I should have been, in fact, for some reason I was barely scared at all, more shockingly was that I was looking at this thing before me with pity clouding my senses. This thing, I realized had no mind of it's own... someone controlled it as a puppet master would force a marionette to move. '

Then time seemed to stop. Maybe it did, or maybe it was too quick for time to be able to catch in it's knarlled hands.

_"You are finally beginning to see."_the voice rang once again in my head, a male's calm and slightly caring tone. There was a prideful hint laced into it's words, "_They raised you well."_

"What is this?" I muttered, looking up at the sky, sensing no-one's presence around me, for one moment besides my own.

_"My power shall finally reawaken."_ Oh, great, even the voice wasn't listening to me.

"Will you be able to help my family?" I whispered, and there was a soft chuckle, "_Them and anyone that you call 'friends'._"

"Then you have my agreement." I muttered.

Suddenly the world seemed to start up again, and I realized that I was most likely going to die. Gun fire rang in my ears, and for a moment I closed my eyes.

Though the numbness never did come, instead at the last moment there was an infuriated cry of, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!"

Suddenly green light blinded my eyes, and I found myself guarded.

Uncle Link had strange cards flying every which way, his gray-streaked blond hair falling out of it's orderly ponytail, his face grim and his blue eyes continuously darting back and forth looking for more enemy units. Then I simply looked at my own dear mother.

Her whole body was taunt, her muscles were lithe and ready to strike, her normally black dress was grey with dust, her long sleeves torn, her short black hair falling in front of her face, before she took off again. Racing up into the sky soaring with the grace of a butterfly, and then flipping in midair she came down in a streak of pure light, striking the destructive power of steel.

Squinting my eyes, I saw that her power seemed to come from some strange red boots... boots that were the same color as the two anklets that she always wore.

Soon all attention was driven to the woman before me, as she flew through the air, and at the moment I really didn't think that it was too weird that my own thirty-two year old mother was litter ally flying, the only trace of thought was something along the lines of, "_Beautiful."_

I was attracted to the sound of metallic wings clinking together, and turning my head around I saw my littlest friend, flinging himself around my head.

"Tim." I managed to croak, though he simply continued to flutter around before dropping something small and glowing into my my left hand.

Looking down I noticed that it seemed to me a cube-like object, with a ring swirling around it like the planet Saturn. Then it simply melted, and trailing down my hand, found a long jagged cut that one of broken window panes had created when I ran out the door.

Then it suddenly solidified, shaping itself into a pair of two wings, and they seemed to look at me with a curious longing.

"Do... you... accept... me?" the voice was soft, almost timid as if it was a small child waiting for a reprimand. It was not the same voice as before, though it carried the same sense of faded familiar feeling.

The whole battle had faded away from me, as I closed my eyes, and reach out and with my left palm took placed it on the wing of the creature and it simply began to fade into my hands. Almost scale-like hexagons began to appear on my palm, then travel up my arm all the way to my shoulder.

_"Welcome back."_ the voice in my head whispered softly.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Chéri watched as the battle ground teemed with monsters... Akuma as her General called them. There were too many, even for her group to take on. Whenever she cut one down, another would come to it's place. They were being slowly overwhelmed.

She grimiced as she found herself growing weary, and snapping her head up, she barely dodged a direct blow from above.

She was slowly find out that she was becoming less and less attentive in battle. Anger filled her veins as she muttered a quick string of curses as she muttered, "_Fente."_ the one spear turned to two, then to three, and four. Snarling, she snapped her fingers and said, "_Dégagement_." The spears went flying into their victims, who barely had time to move.

Turning her head sightly Chéri did a quick check, making sure that her leader was safe, before she leaped on to the roof, and darted across the black shingles, slashing at everything that was within her reach.

She jumped down, her brown hair flying in and out of her line of vision, and for a strange moment all was quiet, then a blinding light erupted in front of her.

After the light died down, she opened her navy eyes to find the girl that she had ungracefully landed on before, standing in front of one of her startled guardians.

As she looked at what the girl was holding Chéri nearly screamed. For in the girl's hands rest a sword that never in her life did she believe that she would see.

_The Sword of Exorcism._

~.~.~0~.~.~

Lenalee looked back as she heard another Level Four start to scream in pain, and turned. The sight that she saw caused her to hover for a moment in pure shock.

There was her daughter, her gray eyes glinting like polished steel, an all too familiar sword rested in her right hand, her left hand was holding down the Level Four as she dug the sword into it's stomach and cut downward.

She had seen this sight rush through so many times during her youth.

"Elena!" she heard herself cry out, that terrible panic rushing into her veins: she didn't want this, not now; she didn't want for her only child to be pulled in to this war... this war of death and pain.

It wasn't fair.

She barely noticed when a deep male voice called out urgently to her and metal wires shot out across her head, destroying the akuma that was about to shoot at her.

It wasn't fair.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I barely knew what was going on... my body seemed to move on it's own. I forced arm to move and it jerked out of the things belly, and I simply looked down at the thing that had tried to kill me. It was still, and then, in a soft glow it simply melted into the ground.

I licked my lips slowly unsure what to do or say now, and looking up, I noticed that most of the monsters had been taken care of. Slowly swinging my head to the side, I looked at my Uncle, who looked as if he was about to collapse, his face pale and his body frozen. Though that was only for a moment, and he quickly came closer and asked, "A-Are you alright, Elena?"

I didn't answer, and looking down at the broadsword in my hands, it simply molded back into my arm, and turning the palm of my hand over, I noticed that there was a strange cut, a thin diamond shape, with a glowing green dot in the middle.

"Strange... shouldn't it be a cross shape?" Whipping my head around, I turned to look at one of the weirdos from before: the boy. His brown hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his eyes were dim, though not unkind, just curious.

In his hands he held what looked to be two really large cards... and I mean they were the height of my legs. They were both aces, one of diamonds and one of hearts. They were outlined with the same glowing green color as the diamond on my hand.

Sensing my stare he dropped them and they simply turned into regular playing cards, and he picked them up off the ground. Before winking at me, "They're my Innocence: _Tarjetas Santas__. _That means 'Holy Cards' in Spanish_."_

I wasn't sure on whether he was attempting to explain something, or just trying to make me more confused, "Um, 'kay then." I said before I was literally crushed by a very, very, shall I emphasize _very_ tearful Minnie, her black curly hair slightly dusted with dirt and wind-rustled.

"WAHHHH! I'M SORRY WE COULDN'T COME SOONER! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Yep, well at least Minnie hadn't changed. Alastair simply walked up with his father and mother, surveying his surroundings.

Auntie Miranda, immediately rushed over to my mom and began going through the exact same speech that I was getting.

Uncle Marie looked at me, and then turned seeing _Auntie _Kanda coming out of the debris he raised a hand in greeting... all that he got back was a snarl. The Asian man simply turned away, and called out, "Chéri?"

The boy looked up at that time and looked around confused... that was before there was a loud battle cry, and the girl landed full speed on his head with a high kick.

Then the screaming started, and they were soon attempting to inflict bodily harm on the other. Timcampy flew over, and one again started gnawing on my head, though I was too tired and curious about other things to really care about it.

My mom looked at me, and immediately rushed over so I was, once again, unable to breath as the air was crushed out of my lungs.

Pushing everyone away, I looked at all of them. Even Minnie and Alastair seemed to be in on this whole thing... or at least know pieces.

Breathing deeply, I turned to gaze at my mom, "What is going on?"

* * *

Okay, so how was it? And to _addenza_, all of the OCs are now in the story. I just wanted them all to be in and done with in this chapter, so sorry for the massive over load in this chapter, there will not be any others like this one.

Also, I have read the manga and find it better than the anime so I will be basing most of the content on it. There will also be spoilers, so don't come crying to me if I tell you something that yoo haven't read yet.

Lastly, I am going to make character charts for the next chapter... just so that nobody will get confused(Including me)

Translations:

_Sang-Noir- 'Black Blood';_ French

_Tarjetas Santas-'Holy Cards;_ Spanish

_Affilez- 'Sharpen'; _French

_Fente-'Split'; _French

_Dégagement- 'Release'; _French

_Chéri-'Darling';_ French

Please Read and Review!! :)

Marine


	3. Past Revelations

Thank you for all the reviews!! Wow five already!(Does the Happy Dance)

Thank you for all of your opinions, especially _addenza, Chu545, _and _Mesonoxian_

Please Enjoy!

* * *

It was about an hour after our house had been demolished, that we had been attacked, and random people had started appearing in my life. It was an hour after my life had flipped upside down and raced away from all sanity that I had once known.

So there I sat, crushed in the dead middle of Uncle Maire's couch between two seventeen-year-old's who are acting like toddlers, as I was trying desperately to simply stay calm and _not _slam both their heads together to get them to _shut up. _

Right when I thought that I wasn't going to be able to handle anymore Mr. K~ oh, sorry, I mean _Auntie _Kanda came over and yelled at them to shut up or he would shut their mouths for them. They both hit the unison of, "Sorry Dad." For the boy, Alma's, answer; and a quick, "_Désolé, _General_." _

Everyone was just staring at me, afraid to break the silence that was drowning the room. Finally I cleared my throat and they all looked up startled, and even the two squishing me quieted and looked at me with curious eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked looked at me mother as she twirled her pale index finger around a strand of black hair. She refused to look up, her browning irises wavering in the water of tears.

Finally the girl, Chéri stood up her navy eyes blazing at all of us, she too was becoming agitated by silence and looking around she said, "Good God! What is with all of you? It is not like we are sending this girl _à l'abattoir_! _Dieu!" _She continued to mutter in quick French before turning to me, and looking at me steadily she started, "Long ago there was a war, between two powers: the God and the Devil. God sent down a great flood in an attempt to erase the darkness that swarmed the earth: The Great Flood. you have heard that story, no?" I nodded and she continued taking a breath, "Long after the Great Flood, about a century and a half ago if I am correct..." she looked at Auntie Kanda who nodded.

"About a century and a half ago, a strange cube was found, and that is were it all started, for written on the cube was an enscription: the instructions on how to use the cube to fight the power of the Devil, who was onc again riseing to power." Again she breathed, and held up a hand to stop me when I opened my mouth to speak.

"The substance was called Innocence, otherwise known as 'God's Crystals'. Innocence possesses the power to turn into a weapon that fights against the Darkness that was to come. Innocence is what makes the strange mark on your hand. Though there is something that is off about the Innocence that you were granted with. The sword that you summoned... it was not the first time that most of us in this room had seen it. It's first Master was a man by the name of General Allen Walker, Head Leader of the famous Black Order~"

"Slow down." I cut her off, and she looked at me coolly, and then tilted her head as if to say, 'What?' Taking a deep breath I looked at her and continued, "All of this seems way too much like a fairytale: if this Allen Walker was Head of a famous order then why haven't I heard of him?"

"Because the war that was going was secret, no one knew about it besides the people that fought in it and the head leaders of the government." The boy, who's name I believed to be Alma explained, then quickly backed down as the girl glared at him harshly.

"Right a 'secret' war. Sounds pretty unlikely to me." I muttered and the girl snapped her attention to me, and chillingly voiced, "Be that as it may, the mark on your palm and the sword that you now control are evidence enough; if that isn't enough for you then go and look at your house, I'm sure the neighbors are beginning to wonder what happened." she immediately turned sheepish, and bit her lip, "Sorry, that was rude of me, also, the Black Order fell around sixteen years ago.

At that I looked up at the girl as she continued, her gaze looking down at the floor, "There was an ambush on the main Head-Quarters Building. Nearly all of the people were killed: Soldiers of God, Scientists, Finders, even Nurses. After that blow it all sort of crumbled, the few that managed to survive lost their greatest ally."

I looked at her as she caught the eye of her elder, who nodded, his raven colored hair bouncing slightly in the motion, his hardened eyes fixed on her with the closes thing to approval that I had seen him give to anyone. She turned to look at me, as I raised my eye line to reach her's, "Who was that?" I asked and Alma simply smiled, though there was something strained as the girl minutely glanced at my mother, who was shaking slightly.

"He was my father... wasn't he... that Allen Walker?" the entire room stilled, and I looked up, a small smile on my face, though it complimented none of the feelings that were building in me at that moment in time. Though all that I was met with was something hard and metal colliding with the back of my head... a sword sheath?

"_Baka Chibi Moyashi_. Never use that damned smile... ever." I turned to the jerk, though he simply looked away, his eyes focusing not on me, but on the corner where my other stood, her back resting against the wall, her legs seeming to barely hold her up. She was looking at the ground, seemingly not wanting to be forced to see any one person's eyes on her.

"Your father was just like you... he simply smiled when he was ready to cry." she whispered as Timcampy flew over and nestled into her hair. She then took him in her thin palms and gave him a watery smile before looking back up, finally, her violet eyes fixed directly on me.

"How did you fix him?" She whispered as he began to flutter around the room again, before simply deciding to see how Uncle Marie's curtains tasted. Apparently he liked them.

"I found him in the attic. I've been working on him for about three years now." I said proudly though it was ultimately ruined when Uncle Link opened his big mouth and muttered, "When she was supposed to be doing her homework I might add. No wonder your grades took a sharp decrease within that time frame."

I spun around as Minnie and Alister both began to laugh, though both quickly shut their loud mouths at the sudden glare that was sent to them as I straightened myself out, "I did my homework before I worked on him."

He gave a soft huff that sounded suspiciously like a, "Yeah, right."

Scowling I fought a constantly losing battle, "It's true!"

Now they were all laughing... as if nothing was wrong at all, that got me a little ticked, though then again I was the leader of that charade.

I looked at Chéri and Alma. They both seemed to be taking advantage of the situation and resting, well Alma was snoring loudly as Chéri simply was resting her head in her left hand, watching us lazily.

"How are you doing that?" I asked and she looked up, brown eyebrow arched perfectly with a soft, "Hmm?" Yawning, she sighed, "We're used to fighting: we do it all the god-damning time. While you guys are happily playing house we are forced to watch over the entire world to make sure that the Akuma do not come back in the numbers that they once did."

"Yeesh, remind me to never wake you up again." That was responded by a soft chuckle as Alma, who I thought to be asleep cracked open an eye, "You should have been there the first time I did that: I still have scars." Something told me that he wasn't lying.

~.~.~0~.~.~

_"Remerciez un Dieu." _Chéri muttered softly as she landed with perfect aim on the fold-out-futon that Uncle Marie had given her. Thankfully, due to Minnie's and Alastair's wonderful parents we had managed to fit everyone in the same house for the night, and in the morning we would be leaving in the hopes to find the rest of the people that had manage to survive the so-called attack on the so-called Black Order.

Wonderfully, Chéri had fit into Auntie Miranda's clothing and I managed to squeeze myself into Minnie's. We were fatefully made to be roommates with Minnie, though she had already fallen asleep and trust me, when Minnie falls asleep there ain't no way to wake that girl up for the life of you. Trust me, I've tried.

Chéri, I learned was a late night person, like me, seeing as it was nearly one o'clock in the morning and neither of us were about to fall asleep.

Unable to think of anything else to do I tried to strike up a conversation, "So, your name is Chéri, eh?" Startling, she nodded, turning to me: so that she would be able to look at me properly. "Yes?" she said, and I continued, sensing the note of confusion in her tone.

"How did you join up with the likes of Auntie Kanda and that Alma kid?" Immediately her face darkened and I knew that I had said something wrong.

"I wish that you would call my General by his name with out that horrendous nickname: he is an adult and should be treated with the amount of respect that you would show a person higher than yourself." Wow, that was not what I was expecting.

"S-sorry." I stuttered and her glare softened a fraction of a degree, and she turned to look out the window to the moon and stars which seemed to be shining brighter tonight than usual.

"To answer your question I was found by them." She spoke so softly that I barely had time to notice, and she continued, "My hometown was very small, not many people I mean; and the few that were there were all very close and good friends with one another. It was a perfect place for the Earl to attack first."

"The Earl?" I asked and she gave a soft chuckle, before nodding, "Sorry, thought that they told you about him at least. He is the leader in this mess. The 'Bad Guy', you could say." Though at this point she was smiling it was not a pleasant grin. Instead it looked very, very bitter.

"My home was one of his first targets after the Final Battle when he regained enough power to begin to create Akuma again. Think about it: a quiet little village on a French province that no one really cared about because it didn't really have enough resources to trade. It was a perfect hit."

The smile was gone now, "What happened?" I asked, and to my suprise she simply shrugged, "No idea."

"EHHH??" My gaze at her went unfaltering, until she swatted my hand away, "I just woke up in a city of ash and sand." Tilting my head curiously I asked, "When did you meet Alma and..." I forced it out of my mouth for good reckon, "Mr. Kanda?"

"Thirteen days after the attack, I retrieved my Innocence. It was parasitic like yours: that means it comes out of your body, or is a part of your being." Nodding my head, I tried to understand, "That's why your Innocence is made of blood."

"No." Once again I looked at her dumbfounded, "What do you mean, then?"

She sighed, and fell back on her pillow, "The Parasitic Innocence came in the form of a tattoo, that spread across the palm of my left hand. It allowed me to control the blood of the Akuma, not my own."

"Then how do you~" she held up a hand, and I shut up, willing her to finish, "After the General and Alma found me, they explained what had happened. Innocence attracts Akuma, you knew that, right?" I nodded, that made sense, "So I took it into my mind as I had been the one that killed my family and friends. I hated the Innocence, I wanted to get rid of it so bad at the time. A Parasitic Types is not like an Equipment Type, meaning that you just can't leave it somewhere though. Trust me, I tried everything that I could think of without promptly killing myself to get it away from me. The only thing that seemed to work was..." She trailed off, shrugging, "Anyway, the moment that I managed to destroy the tattoo, I found out that Parasitic Type Innocence isn't in the one spot of you body in which it transforms in to a weapon. It's in your entire blood stream." She gave a bitter laugh that made me shutter, "They were so pissed off at me when they found out what I had done. The General promptly told me that if I wanted to die that badly he would have done it for me." That was the only time that he had or has for that matter, ever really gotten mad at me."

"Your life seems to have sucked." I reasoned, though she simply smiled, "Try going without for food for three days when your a Parasitic type, sleeping in the rain... or having to sing Christmas carols when you aren't even Christan... we did that Moscow." She laughed at my horrified look.

"Wait... I thought that Innocence was the God's Matter?" She simply shook her head, the smile still on her lips, "You don't have to believe everything that you hear _fille: _you might find that you are fighting for the wrong reasons." She looked down and began to mutter a soft song in French under her breath.

"So..." She looked up again, surprised by my never ending questions, "Why does Alma seem more emotionally attached to your _General_?" It was the truth: every time that Auntie Kanda seemed to come around Chéri seemed to go into soldier mode while Alma was the opposite, as he seemed to calm down whenever the man walked by. "He even, if I'm not mistaken, calls him 'Dad'." She stopped for a moment taken back then muttered dangerously under her breath, "_Mon Dieu! Le Bâtard! Rien de Dieu il!"_ I had no idea what she was saying about him but I knew that it wasn't good.

Slowly she seemed to calm down, which was a good sign, and then after taking three deep breaths, started, "The General found the idiot first, and decided to take him in. 'Even named the brat." That took me back somewhat, I guess that I thought that they were all more like a battle squad than a family. Guess that I was wrong.

"Why did~"

That seemed to be enough 'Twenty Questions.' for her and she simply rolled away to face the wall.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Morning was not fun. I awoke with the worse headache, to Minnie screaming, and Chéri cursing so much that it would have made her mother roll in her grave. Alma was yelling outside the door, and Auntie Kanda was nowhere to be found. _Great. _

_"_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Oh great, even better: my wonderful Aunt, Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass, was here. I barely dodged a poorly aimed alarm clock, and the poor, abused, little thing hit the wall with a loud 'SPOING'. Chéri was now cursing fluently in Spanish and Alma in French. (Not sure why they were mixing up langauges.)

"CALM DOWN!" my voice rang throughout the air, and the whole place seemed to silence for a moment, then slowly started back up again, as Cheri left the room(though not before making sure to stamp on Alma's foot, causing him to wail.)

Slowly we all made our way down stairs, and plopped all of ourselves down in the living and dining areas.

The two eldest teens, sat as far away from each other as physically possible, on opposite sides of the room. Alistair was attempting to keep from laughing at their childish antics as he looked at me, his brown eyes glimmering with amusement, and he watched as Auntie Kanda forced himself between the twos' eye sights of the other.

Soon he simply came over, "Are they always like that?"

I took a moment to think before answering, "Yeah."

"Man, and I thought that Minerva and I did not get along." He was soon hit with a shoe and heard the cry of, "It's Minnie!"(He was the only person that I knew of that Minnie could get angry at and attempt to give bodily harm to.)

The headache was getting progressively worse as Uncle Link and Mom walked over to me and placed their hands on each of my shoulders. I wasn't alone... well, that was a good thing.

My head was throbbing, and I barely noticed that Chéri suddenly tensed and slinked out of the room, the only other noticing seemed to be Alma, though his eyes turned slightly cool, and he looked away as she moved outside.

Something was not right. My thoughts were immediately confirmed when Chéri came crashing through the door, and landed spread eagle into the kitchen wall... Suddenly a large hole appeared in the middle of the floor: a swirling black vortex; immediately, Link and Mom pushed me behind them, one's boots activating immediately the other's switch blades coming to glint in the bright light that was erupting from the center of the room.

Surrounded.

We were surrounded. Akuma, of all powers and in great numbers were closing in, Chéri was groaning, blood trailing down from her hair line. Real blood. For the first time it hit me, this was real: it wasn't a simple bed-time story, where the characters all seem to end up safe in the end. It had already taken lives. REAL lives: people with thoughts, emotions, families that loved them all dearly. WE were going to become those people. People like that Head-General who became nothing more than a legend. WE would become legends. Man: I hadn't even had my first kiss yet... life sucked.

I suddenly felt both of my guardians' hands go limp and looking up I saw that my mom's eyes were fixated on the vortex, out of which two people were striding out of leisurely. Slowly, I forced myself to look closer.

The first thing that I found my self looking at was... a pair of eyes, the right a bright gold. The other a light gray... the same color as my own eyes.

Only one word escaped my mother, Lenalee Lee's, lips.

"Allen."

* * *

Okay people, before you go and get out your wonderful chainsaws and pitchforks let me say something... DON'T KILL ME! I'LL TRY TO UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN! BUT THAT MIGHT BE IN A WEEK OR SO!! SORRY!!!!

Also the whole Chéri and Elena thing was because one of my friends wanted to see how Chéri reacted in a normal situation without Alma around... hope I didn't fail you Sean-chan. :)

Character Charts:

_Name:_ Elena Lee

_Birthday_: February 13

_Age_: 16

_Place of Birth_: Britain

_Description_: A young, fun-loving woman with a bit of a curious side especially when it comes to the Field of Science. She has lived with her mother, Lenalee Lee, and her 'Uncle' Link in Britain ever since she was born. She is said to have a lot of her father's features(Gray eyes, a stubborn spirit, and his attitude), though she has never truly been curious about her past... until now. Her mother has also told her that she has a lot of the same interests as her real uncle, who has been deceased for around seventeen years now. Elena is best of friends with Alistair and 'Minnie' Minerva Marie. She has recently become aware of the events that have been taking place in the shadows of her life, and now has her own(?) Innocence.

_Likes_: Reading, writing, fire, chemicals, puzzles, and things-that-make-her-brain-work.

_Dislikes:_Kanda Yuu, teachers, grammar, Akuma, and the color pink.

Translations:

___à l'abattoir-'To the slaughter-house.'_; French

_Alma-'Soul';_ Spanish

___Dieu_- 'God'; French

_Désolé-'Sorry'; _French

___Mon Dieu! Le Bâtard! Rien de Dieu il!_- 'Oh God! The Bastard! God damn him!'; French

_Fille-'Girl';_ French

Please Read and Review!! :)

Marine


	4. Battle in a Flux

_Gracias para la reviews! _(Thank you for the reviews!) Especially to _Mesonoxian, too lazy to login, unsigned, Evnyofdeath, _and _addenza!_

* * *

_I suddenly felt both of my guardians' hands go limp and looking up I saw that my mom's eyes were fixated on the vortex, out of which two people were striding out of leisurely. Slowly, I forced myself to look closer._

_The first thing that I found my self looking at was... a pair of eyes, the right a bright gold. The other a light gray... the same color as my own eyes._

_Only one word escaped my mother, Lenalee Lee's, lips._

_"Allen."_

I found myself looking at this stern eyes man, and felt a strange sense of fear. Though I guess that I wasn't the only, seeing as the entire room had silenced. Mr. Kanda and Alma gazed at the spot where Chéri had fallen not a moment ago from our sight.

"It's seems that hey are too stunned to speak lad." Another man strode out of the portal, his long dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, his gold eyes glinting with a sort of malice that you would find in a murderer.

"Aw, by quiet Tyki, you ruined the moment!" the girl behind their leader chided, her black hair was childishly cut and glinted an almost blue in the light. _What moment? _There was no goddamning moment anywhere, there was just silence. Alma was the first one out of the trance, and he went at them _screaming_. Never before had I seen someone normally so happy, so angered. Then again I had never seen a battle in war.

He raced at the leader, though the girl stepped out with ease and pointed to him, and there was a moment of quiet before he utterly crumpled to the ground.

"Sleep tight for a while." She said with a wink though there was a sinister gleam in her eyes as the other tan skinned subordinate looked at the youth on the ground and muttered lightly, "Tease," A glowing purple swarm for what looked to be butterflies appeared from his hand, as he flicked his wrist, "Eat him."

This was pissing me off. Then again I always go pissed off when I didn't understand what was going on. I suddenly felt a strange power begin to awaken inside my veins: _Innocence._

_Innovate._

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Sword of Exoticism!"

Chéri's dulled ears, barely manage to capture the voice in her mind though it seemed to fade and morph so that the voice was unrecognisable. A man and woman, it seemed to fit into both categories.

Blearily, blue eyes formed slits and the world forced its way back into her mind. Shakily she looked down and noted the pool of her own scarlet live line pooling beneath her and her sences sharped, and strength seemed to return for a moment. She just needed to give them the upper hand, then she could sleep. _Just... a... little... while... longer._

_"FLEUR DE MORTE!" _

~.~.~0~.~.~

Kanda had often watched silently as Cheri and Alma race forward on to the battleground and watched them both fall. It happened so may times before that he was quite used to it. Besides, teens had unnatraully thick skulls, to prevent anymore damage to be placed on them than absolutely necessary. That was the only logical explanation on why they were also so stubborn and never learned no matter how many times they fought.

He watched as the Moyashi's brat rushed forward to fight the man in the front. Teenagers. In a flash he had unsheathed Mugan and sent a swarm of Hell Insects at the Noahs, hopefully creating enough distraction to allow the girl to get in a good hot or two and give him enough time to get his idiot of an adopted son off his lazy ass and up and fighting again.

Rushing forward, he was blocked by a swarm of Tease as the separated him and the limp form of the soon-to-be-eighteen year old with their fluttering wings of purple and black. He could feel their small mouths take out chunks of his flesh when Lena's scream ripped through the air. _Kuso._

"_Nigentou:HAKKA TOUROU!" _

_"__Tarjetas Santas: Rubor Real!"_

_~.~.~0~.~.~_

Innocence glowed around me in defense as I launched myself at the man again though once again he simply blocked and threw me away as though I was a pesky bug. His eyes were not on me, oh no, he seemed to not even to give a freakin' damn. Though every time that I attacked he became edgy, as if he was slightly worried that I had no idea what I was doing (Which I didn't.) and was going to somehow harm myself. (Which I probably was.)

Light blinded my eyes as to blurs raced past me, not aiming for the man that I was fighting, but his two colleges. A shrowd of black hair and glimmer of steel colored eyes reminded me that this was probably not my battle. I heard Mom take off in to the air behind me somewhere, and Uncle Link's switch blades clink.

I noted that Alma was once again up and settling himself in the hordes of Akuma his cards creating a sort of barrier between us and the bullets of the demons. He was out for blood, that much was obvious the way that he slashed at the swarms without one target and the way that though the dark liquid of the creatures splattered against his black clothing he didn't seem to notice. There was a grace of fury in his movements that I would never match, no matter how hard I could try. Revenge was a powerful reason for anger, and with that anger death seemed to stalk silently.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eyesight and readied myself to block the oncoming attack. Though I could not seem to move, it seemed at though I was nothing more than a statue waiting for some little boy to break me... and that one of the tan men was flying at me. My legs stayed rooted to the ground as I braced my body for a full head on blow.

Though it never came.

"Innocence Activate: Heaven's Tune!" a young male voice called as a rush of wind raced past my ear.

"Time Record: TIME OUT!"

~.~.~0~.~.~

Tiki Mikk watched sulkily as the brown haired woman raced forward the emblem on her wrist gleaming to make a barrier between him and the girl and one of her little spawn, raced forward with an angered fire burning in his eyes. Brilliant, just bloody brilliant: more of the annoyances that he was now forced to deal with. When the hell was Sheryl coming? That bloody idiot was always late.

The Lad had something in his hands, a violin? It was a deep hue of maple, it's ebony finger and end pieces gleamed with the soft shine of age. Though silver outlined the edges, and as the boy began to play Tiki felt his bonds on the girl in front of him snap as it cut by a sharp sword. The music seemed to almost drowned out all of his thoughts and slightly sickened him. The Akuma which had been around him were fleeing and in a mass panic to escape and those who didn't, exploded.

Anger built within him as he rushed toward them, making sure to block out the music from his thoughts, only to be stopped by the far more powerful barrier of the woman. This was getting annoying. _Fast._

He broke through the barricade, hearing Mrs. Brownie cry out in shock and pain and her husband call out to her in shock. He was ready to attack at the boy relentlessly: though denfensive Innocence could not stop even the first level one Akuma, an Innocence that was both defencive and offensive should be taken out of the battle immediately seeing as they would only cause trouble. Though right when he reached the black haired kid, something flashed out of the corner of his eye: a broadsword that he knew and feared all too well, seeing as he had already felt its wrath once.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I raced at him with the only thought in my mind being,_ 'Kick the crap out of this bastard.'_

No one and I mean no one was allowed to even touch my friends in a harmful way... and this guy had crossed that line a long time ago. He spun around, blocking my attack with the purple shield-like plate of his little insects, his golden irises burning like pools of melted bronze as a wide smile crossed his features.

"Look here _little_ girl. We don't really care about you at this point so if you could, STAY OUT OF THE WAY!" he threw me against one of the parlor walls, causing my head to reel backwards and making my eyes sees stars.

I shakily took a moment's time to glace around as Uncle Marie and Auntie Kanda continued fighting against these generals of the Devil with all their might, Alma was blocking attacks on the house, Uncle Link was placing up shield cards against the walls to make a safe place, Minnie was out of my eyesight, probably trying to help her mother, who was on the side lines healing the wounds of the fighters. My mom... Momma... she lashed out against the Leading Man with a betrayed fury, her kicks and attacks creating flashes of blinding light with ever strike she attempted to land. Her face was dirty and there were noticeable tear-tracks running down her cheekbones, though she fought as though her life depended on it. Which I was sure it did.

Though we were losing: we were all beat up and tired and the others seemed to just be playing with us as if we were dolls. They were not injured in the least, and their eyes still sparkled with energy. Chéri was already down, how many more before... before we all were gone?

There was a ringing sound vibrating in my ears, starting out softly, then growing progressively louder as I looked down and saw blood trailing down the cracks in the crevices of the wooden floor boards. Though I knew that it was not mine: it had a new found energy that I knew that wasn't mine. It trailed down the cracks, heading toward the fight.

Though as I blearily watched it I noted that it began making turns in the wood, surrounding the defenders of our home. Then suddenly the house began to shake and a burgundy light erupted from the floor. There was a untied cry of surprise and pain as the gleam of the intrusion blinded both friend and foe a like.

After a while I squinted my eyes, in the vain hope that the light had died down and I would be able to see what was going on again. What my eyes found was the opposite of what I was expecting to find. The glimmer of what illuminating glow that there was, was dim and slightly red tinted. It was as if we were in a large darkroom. All was quiet, the sounds of fighting had been extinguished.

Finally, I heard a soft voice, and found Minnie swimming in and out of my vision, suddenly the voice got louder, and I shot up, looking around. What I saw suprised me.

We were all there, well all of us that were standing that was. Then out of the blue a strained voice caught my attention, "_Merde." _I knew that French accent.

"Chéri!" I called, and saw her kneeling form being surrounded by Mr. Kanda and Alma, both of which had minor injuries though were no worse for the wear. If only I could saw that about the only girl in their company. She was resting against ground, panting, blood trialling down her cheekbones, and dripping on to the ground her arms were cut and gushing blood, She was grimacing in pain and shaking in exhaustion.

Auntie Miranda rushed over, concern written all over her pale face as she reached out to the girl, and suddenly the wounds that were there not a moment ago were gone. Though it did not stay that way, for a moment later, new wounds began to appear.

"Don't waste your energy." Auntie Kanda said harshly, and Alma began to explain, "Right now we're in ___Fleur de Morte, _it's Chéri's only defense, and while it is quite affective to us bestanders, every attack that someone places on the outside surrounding us, is shown on it's wielder here." He motioned toward the girl, who was breathing heavily, though she let out a barking laugh.

"They aren't happy that I took you away," she mumbled, "Please heal yourselves quickly so that I can stop." my wonderful Auntie nodded and began to hurriedly rush around fixing up wounds of the others.

My mom walked over and looked at me with relieved, then she was squeezing the air out of me, "Elena, I am so sorry to drag~" I cut her off with a shake of my head, "No, Mom listen: all this was bound to happen some time, and I'm sorta glad that it is now." I smiled, though that just seemed to make it worse, and she hugged me tighter.

"I want for you to get away while you still can." She muttered, and Uncle Link nodded, as well as all the adults, much to us "Kids'" anger.

"Hell no! I can fight!" I said angrily, and Alma backed me up with protest though we were both quickly silenced, "Neither of you have ever fought these people, you don't know their strength. You've seen what happened to Chéri. You will die." Uncle Marie said simply, causing both Minnie and Al to start objecting, though he continued without even listening to their racket, "We will create a distraction, and you will escape. We will follow afterward."

There was something in the adults' eyes that made my mind click together, "It's that guy outside isn't it? The leader." It wasn't a question, though Mr. Kanda simply grunted, "It doesn't matter. You," He pointed to Alma, "Will take her, " he pointed to Chéri, "And get the hell out of here, guard the brat and her friends so that they don't die." I was already to mad to get anymore agitated.

"I can fight!" I yelled difiantly, though Uncle Link simply shook his head emotionlessly, and something popped out of his jacket pocket... something shiny.

"TIM!" I cried out, surprised as he circled around me, then settled down in my hair, as Uncle Link continued, "If we, by chance, do not managed to escape and follow after you, you will have to continue the search for the others. You will go on to find the others that survived, their names are Lavi Bookman, Timothy Hearst, Johnny Gill, Bak Chan, Lou Fa... there may be more, but those are the few that I have managed to find and locate. Their locations are now embedded into Timcampy's memory, he will be able to help you find them." He smiled, which one of the few times he ever did.

Chéri, who was now leaning against Alma, walked over sluggishly to our little huddle, and my mom nodded, and leaned down to kiss my forehead. Then she nodded to Chéri, who closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh.

"Alright, GO!" The walls around us melted into dark liquid, and there was a rush of power, as we raced out, and into the cloudy raining day. I barely noted the tears that were running down my face until they were mixed with rain drops.

* * *

Okay people, before you go and get out your wonderful chainsaws and pitchforks let me say something... DON'T KILL ME! I'LL TRY TO UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN! BUT THAT MIGHT BE IN A WEEK OR SO!! SORRY!!!!

The last part of the chapter came to me via one of my dear friends, so I hope that I did alright and met all of your approval.

Character Charts:

_Name:_Chéri Harvet

_Birthday_: May 12

_Age_: 17

_Place of Birth_: France

_Description_: A young girl who has been fighting along with the few that still believe in attempting to ward off the demons that were, and are, being created in this world. Alone, with only her so-called General and his adopted son she has learned to fight for what she thinks is right and will not easily change the opinions that she has placed in her mind. Though she is stubborn that does not mean that she is uncaring. She will protect her allies with all that she contains, and if often the most alert person besides Kanda, this leads her to become slightly paranoid at times and forces her to despise Alma, Kanda's adopted son, for his care-free attitude. While that may be, it is known that he is the one person that can calm her in desperate situations.

_Likes_: Sleeping, eating, Kanda Yuu, French, drawing, and swimming.

_Dislikes: _Kanda Alma, singing, English, Spanish, ice skating, and thunderstorms.

Translations:

___Fleur de Morte-'Bloom of Death_; French

_____Tarjetas Santas: Rubor Real-'Holy Cards: Royal Flush.'_; Spanish

___Nigentou:Hakka Tourou!_-'Double Illusion Blades:Eight Flowers Praying Mantis'; Japanese

_Kuso-'Shit'; _Japanese

___Merde_- 'Shit'; French

Please Read and Review!! :)

Marine


	5. Return to Escape

_Gracias para los reviews! _(Thank you for the reviews!) Especially to _Mesonoxian and __shia1kazuto3. _Thanks so much to all of my readers who have given me the support to keep going! :)

* * *

We waited, for what seemed like hours, standing outside as the rain poured down on us even as the water soaked through our clothes and even as the ground formed to mud beneath our worn feet. I looked around our group for a sign of hope, anything really, any emotion other than the emptiness that was clawing at the bottom of my stomach. Whatever it was that I was searching for, I didn't find it in the eyes or expressions of my friends.

We were all close to falling asleep from the energy that we had exerted in battle, and truth be told that a few of us had already slipped into unconsciousness: Chéri rested still in Alma's arms, and for the first time I noted that she was quite... small. She barely reached my chin and I wasn't that tall at only one meter and 63 centimeters.

"Come on, the rain is starting to pick up: we should go and find shelter." I turned to Al, his black eyes staring like mine out into the road as if waiting still for his parents to return, and I would have not thought that he had said a word until he repeated the words, taking my hand and nearly dragging me to the dim lights in the close distance. Though as he did take me away from the road, I continued to gaze back unaware of what was happening around me. It was too much... just too much for one event in time.

I walked into the warm, dry lobby of the inn that we had trudged into, my eyes scanning around the room with renewed suspicion; I seemed to not be able to be sure now whom to trust or now what to do. What could I do at this point? Minnie smiled at me with a hopeful smile, and sighing I tried to return the gesture though my lips seemed almost to be frozen in time. What could I do? '

_Sit and wait.'_ A voice muttered softly in my mind.

_~.~.~0~.~.~ _

Alistair watched his best friend out of the corner of his eye. Never before had he seen her like this... never before had he ever felt this useless... he knew that he couldn't do a single thing to rewrite what was happening to them, though, maybe... every thing would end up to be alright. Yes, all that he had to do was keep the optimism like Minnie. Everything would be alright. They would be fine: the adults would come back and they would not have to do this on their own.

He gave a heavy groan and shook his head: who was he fooling? All that he now had was his little sister, his best friend, and two other teens that he didn't even know. Oh, and the vilion. One of the reasons that they were attacked. Great now he really just wanted to set it aflame and watch it burn.

Suddenly a hand bumped against his shoulder, and he found himself looking into rust colored eyes, the eyes of the older man that had fought with them. There was a slightly reasurring glimmer in his irises, and a small smile wavered at his lips. He seemed to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, as if all of this pain and fighting was something that was nothing-out-of-the-ordinary.

Then Alistair realized something: how much had this guy who only had a few years on him gone through? How much had he lost? How could he handle all that was thrown at him in this time of war? How had he simply left his guardian without a single glace back? How?

"How do you do it?" He asked, and Alma turned away for a moment, thinking, before answering, "I do all that I can with what is thrown at me." He looked at the still form of his comrade-in-arms who was resting on one of the sofas in the inn.

"Do you really hate her?" his brown eyes looked up, shocked, into obsidian orbs of curiosity before smiling, "Of course I do: I know her too well not to." Though as he turned back Al noticed a look, not of hate, but of worry that was directed at the young woman.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I woke up groggily to something pulling at my hair sharply, and I sleepily batted it away with the palm of my hand and a soft, "Get the hell away."

Though soon it came back with a vengeance, nipping, biting, and batting me with what seemed to be little paws and teeth. Again I shoo-ed it away. Finally it seemed to get the picture and left me alone. Sighing I snuggled back into my covers and~WHAM!!

"WHAT THE HELL?!" My cry awoke Chéri and Minnie, the first jolting up and grimacing in pain, and the other exploding from her dream in a flurry of sheets and quilts before landing on the hardwood floors with a resounding 'thump'. Tim, which had been the annoyance of earlier dispute, was thrown against a wall yet again in the panic and after a moment of strangled silence a low, tired voice seemed to fill the air.

"Elena... Elena, can you hear me?" A sort of epiphany flooded into my veins, for I knew that tone all too well: it was my own, dearly beloved....

"UNCLE LINK!!!" I was sure that my scream awoke the entire inn, as the boys both came running in, clad in their oh so heroic t-shirts and boxers, one already equipped with his weapon out, his brown eyes looking around for blood to be shed.

All that they found was us girls crowding around Timcampy as my uncle's voice protruded out of the little robot's mouth area. Alma's face broke into the widest grin that I had seen yet as he called out, "Señor Link... my father... is he~"

"_DAMARE, KONO KUSO-TTARE!" W_as heard distantly in the background, and Chéri let out a whoop of delight and I could distinctively hear Uncle Marie and Aunt Miranda both attempting to get through to their kids. Though that was not the voice that I was hearing for, and then it caught my ears, and rang there like a bell.

"Elena, dear, are you alright?" It was soft and sounded very worn, though never before had I ever felt such a wave of relief rush over my body and drown me in its wake. Shakily I nodded my head, not caring if she couldn't see it, then slowly, stuttering slightly managed to mutter, "Yes Momma, I'm fine. A-are you all uninjured?"

There was a silence that was followed by a soft sniffle on both ends of the connection, and Auntie Kanda yelling out something in Japanese frantically attempting to get my mom to stop crying. I didn't care, because I too felt shameless tears of relief flow down the bridge of my nose and into my lap. I barely noticed when Minnie and Al began to squeeze me so tight that I could barely breath. Thogu hfor one I really didn't care about my personal bubble being intruded. I was too relieved

The adults came into the room, tracking in mud, absolutly drenched in rain, and beat up. But we had never been so happy to see them. In fact I do believe that that was one of the first times that I had thrown my arms around both of my 'parents' for a hug since I was five.

~.~.~0~.~.~

_Ten days later... _

Slowly I trudged through the cobblestone streets of Paris, looking on as Al and Minnie raced ahead, for this had been the first time that they had ever seen its river's tranquil waters, or the stone marvel that was Notre Dame.

We had moved foreward to France in the vain hope that we would be able to find either Timothy Hearst or Bak Chan. This was the last place that Tim had been able to pick either of them up on his little radar. Though so far we were empty handed and battle worn from all of the fighting that we were forced to participate in.

Though over the past few days I had been able to nearly perfect my sword play, seeing as I was often forced to train with Auntie Kanda, because he was the only other sword weapon. Not to mention it was either I train with him or Chéri, and I would rather be given a clean death with a sword instead of a slow and agonising end with a spear stuck in my gut.

Slowly the world around me had crept in to my mind and as much as I hated to say it, I was slowly beginning to become used to the never ending fights and the fact that you could barely get a wink of sleep without being attacked. Finally I was beginning to feel what Auntie Kanda was made to go through for all of his life, and well, lets just say that I was starting to understand why he seemed to have a stick up his ass all the time.

So now here we were. Thankfully the adults had paid for new clothes, so I had picked a dark, red cotten jacket and a dark navy skirt(Though that was only because all the pants that the shop that we went to carried were mens'... stupid sexist owner.)

Chéri was dressed in simple slacks (They were male), and a black, long sleeve t-shirt and a burgundy jacket, same as Alma, only his was looser and his shirt had shorter sleeves, so that they rolled down to the middle of his fore arms. Though the only reason that Chéri had chose long sleeves was because of her Innocence and the fact that she didn't like it when people stared... which they did quite often.

Minnie had dressed herself into a pair of dark shorts, and a form-fitting, garnet tank top with a denim cut off jacket around her shoulders(She was getting alot of attention from most of the males that past by us, though they all quickly turned away at the look on both her father and brother's faces. She would simply look at them with curious eyes and back at me where I would be massaging my forehead. Stupid, innocently sweet, little Minnie.). Her hair had also been placed into corn rows. Alister had really just traded in his simple black attire for another unoriginal dark attire. Lazy and boring! (I had thrown a fit when he had bought them seeing as he rarely ever wore any colors besides gray. Stupid goth of a friend... stupid self for calling said stupid goth friend, "Stupid".)

That is the only thing that gets me about Al: he never likes to do anything besides stay cooped up in his room and play music or write. He is LAZY! Minnie on the other hand was the complete opposite and could probably run six miles without stopping for breath. But I love them both anyway.

Chéri walked beside me, muttering something in quick French to Auntie Kanda before taking off into the collection of street vendors dragging Alma and me behind her.

While we were looking, the low and constant beat of drums and the distant sound of marching filled my ears as rang there for a moment. Finally ripping my eyes away from what looked to be a really expensive necklace I managed to turn and look at my two older friends, as the older girl bartered for a scarf that a vendor was selling, and from the looks of it she was getting into quite a heated argument. They wouldn't really notice if I was gone for a moment would they? I figured not, and broke into slight sprint.

The sight in front of me gave me a start, for large squads of troops marched out of the city from beneath one of the main arches, and I found my curiosity growing with every second. They bore the mark of the Allies, and I knew at that moment that the war that would supposedly end all wars was starting. And with that war would come more tragedy and with tragedy and death came Akuma.

A sigh came from behind me, "Another war, more tragady to fuel the fires." I looked around to see a man in his thirties watching the army march out. His red hair glinted in the bright sun, though his one visable green eye was weary and slightly stonic, the other remained hidden under a mop of red bangs. From his accent he didn't sound French. A long and tattered scarf hung around his neck: it was a pale cream and had probably been a rich orange at one point. There was a smile on his face that reminded me of someone that I knew long ago. Then it all just seemed to click.

"U-uncle..._Lavi_?"

~.~.~0~.~.~

A black portal surrounded by a faint glow of purple exploded into the a white room. A piano rested in the right corner looking alone and unused as a older man entered the sanctuary that he called his room. Without much of a warning he collapsed onto the couch and reached up with his left hand as if trying to grab something but instead he just gazed at the black arm with a helpless expression before bringing it down to rest over the row of crosses that lined his forehead like a crown.

Suddenly his one golden eye flickered for a moment into a stormy gray, though it suddenly flashed back again as the man's mask crumbled to reveal an expression of pain that was both physical and metal. He sat up for a moment before looking into the wall, that reflected like a mirror. In the mirror the man's reflection shone back with a furious expression, at least it looked to be his reflection though there was the fact that it's eyes were both a stormy gray and a pure white cloak shrouded it's shoulders.

"What is bothering you Allen? Have I not done what you asked and eliminated the Thousand Year Duke?" The Noah asked and the reflection quivered for a moment in absolute rage before striking out, "You betrayed me. I never said anything about attacking them! I said to warn them of what was to come!" The Golden Noah simply laughed at the figure, "I am the Fourteenth, the betrayer of the First Earl, what makes you believe that I would ever be loyal to the likes of you?" he turned his multicolored gaze to the man in the mirror, "Besides that girl will be the next 'you'. She is the next Destroyer of Time, and if I do not put a stop to her she will end up being the end to us both."

Allen wavered with anger, "I care not about if she will be the death of me, she is my daughter and you are not going to harm her."

Golden gaze met gray, "Oh? Just what can you do to stop me, my Little Friend in a Looking-Glass? You will simply have to wait out the moment to take charge as I have done with you." Much to his surprise the trapped male simply gave a low chuckle.

"I figured as much. That is why I made sure to make you both equal. Just as it with you and me, I refuse to allow for you to obtain the upper hand of the playing-cards again, _my friend_." The Fourteenth's eyes filled with rage and he opened his mouth to question what the Once General had just said when the image began to fade, and with one last smirk the illusion disappeared from view.

The Fourteenth eyes widened and suddenly he let loose an outraged cry as there was the sound of glass being shattered.

Though it did not matter to Allen.

He had finally escaped.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Roade walked through the gleaming white city, though her normally happy slightly insane eyes were clouded with annoyance and worry. It wasn't like the Fourteenth to let anyone off as easily as he had with his former allies. She thought... no knew, that he didn't care about them! He had locked Allen up in the Fourteenth's room to make sure that that wouldn't happen! There was no way that he could... why had he acted the way that he did?

He had let the girl and her friends escape, then he, the supposedly indistructable Musician, had been beaten down. By that old hag of a Crystal type no less! He could... no: should have, been able to destroy that whimp of a butterfly within three seconds.

Blood dripped down the knuckle of her left index finger as she bit it in thought and anger. It wasn't fair! She and the others were his family now, couldn't he see that?

"No," she muttered to herself, "You're still an Exorcist at heart, aren't you Allen? That's why no matter what we do you won't leave the Fourteenth's mind. You seem to be able to falter his every move." A small smile pasted her dark lips as she gave a small sigh and turned to the voice of Tyki call her.

Though as she did she knew that something was wrong the moment that she looked into his gold orbs that contained a bitter agitation mixed with a slight tint of worry. She already knew what had happened before he had even opened his mouth to speak.

She had already taken off running by the time that he had finished the three word sentence.

_Allen is gone._

* * *

Okay, as to the time period of this story I made it around the time World War I started because the original -man seems to be at the rise of tension that led to the Great War. So that's about 1917.

If you are asking why they are all dressed in red and black the simple answer is that I thought that their clothes should resemble the original Exorcist outfits, and seeing as the latest ones are those colors, I used them.

Character Charts:

_Name:_Kanda Alma

_Birthday_: October 8

_Age_: 17

_Place of Birth_: Spain

_Description_: A teen who really just want to have a good, normal life. Though that is not possible in the war zone that he has become accustomed to throughout the years. So instead he simply smiles and tries to make his home with what he is give... which isn't much. He was born off of the main city of Santander. He was separated from his parents at a very young age, and soon found the popularly-called 'General' Kanda Yuu. At the age of five he took to following the man, and after many hardships and near-deaths he gained the power of Innocence. After doing so the General took him in as an adopted son and an a 'student' of sorts. At the age of seven his 'father' took him to a small town in France where Akuma numbers had grown horribly high. There they met Chéri, and the two's personalities clashed. Ever since then they have had an ongoing hate/dislike relationship. Though that is true, he is quite protective over her and they fight along side one another nearly flawlessly.

_Likes_: Sleeping, eating, Kanda Yuu, Spanish, and surfing.

_Dislikes: _Kanda Alma, singing, French, drawing, and being woken up.

Translations:

___Fleur de Morte-'Bloom of Death'_; French

_____Señor-'The equivalent of Sir'_; Spanish

___DAMARE KONO KUSO-TTARE-'Shut up, you Asshole'_; Japanese

_Kuso-'Shit'; _Japanese

___Merde_- 'Shit'; French

Please Read and Review!! :)

Marine


	6. A Red Suprise

_Gracias para los reviews! _(Thank you for the reviews!) Especially to _Mesonoxian and __shia1kazuto3. _Thanks so much to all of my readers who have given me the support to keep going! :)

* * *

_A sigh came from behind me, "Another war, more tragedy to fuel the fires." I looked around to see a man in his thirties watching the army march out. His red hair glinted in the bright sun, though his one visible green eye was weary and slightly sonic, the other remained hidden under a mop of red bangs. From his accent he didn't sound French. A long and tattered scarf hung around his neck: it was a pale cream and had probably been a rich orange at one point. There was a smile on his face that reminded me of someone that I knew long ago. Then it all just seemed to click._

_"U-uncle...Lavi?"_

He simply looked at me for a moment as I gaped at him like a fish out of water. Then the mischievous glimmer erupted like green fire in his showing iris, and he picked me up and spun me as he had done when I was just a toddler. That same old ear-to-ear grin was plastered against his pale face as he looked down at me with a small smile, I couldn't help but grin back and return his hug with enthusiasm.

Truth be told, Uncle Lavi or Bookman as I used to call him was my favorite extended family member, right after Uncle Link that is. He used to come to our house all the time when I was little, and would always bring me something back: a gift or book of sorts from the places that he had been. I had absolutely adored him. Though, I felt my face fall that the thought, for the night that he had left would still burn in my mind. It was the only time that I had ever seen my mom really cry by the time that I was five or so years.

They had thought that I was in bed, and Uncle Lavi had just finished reading me my last bedtime story, when he walked outside, careful not to unsettle me. For a few minutes all was quiet as he had gone to talk to my parents, and then there was my mom's voice, rising slightly. I knew the tone that she was using: it was the tone that she used whenever someone talked about my father: a slightly raised and steely voice.

Uncle Link's voice soon joined in and I began to hear screaming. I clutched my stuffed rabbit, a gift from Uncle Lavi from his recent trip to America.

"You can't hide it from her forever Lenalee!" Uncle Lavi's voice was angered, for one of the first time I had ever known.

"I can't just go and tell her everything either Lavi." My mother's voice was tired, and very stressed, she was answered angrily, "Why not? Allen would~"

"That is enough Bookman." Uncle Link cut in, his voice as cold as ice, and I could literally feel the way that his blue eyes were glaring at my favorite family friend. Quietly, I slipped out of bed as I heard the front door slam and I remember looking out the glass window of my bed room on my tiptoes, watching Uncle Bookman's form disappear into the night.

I heard my mother crying, and slowly opened my door, and walked down the cream-colored hallway that Uncle Link and she had worked so hard on that previous summer. I just watched as she continued sobbing and as Uncle Link stood there as stiff as a board, looking at the door his sharp features twisted in a mask of cold marble.

That was the night in which I promised myself that I would show my mom that I didn't need a father to be happy, all that I needed was for her to smile and be content.

I was snapped out of the flashback as I heard my friends calling my name and I looked on as one-by-one they all came running to see if I was alright.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Minnie ran to where Elena was standing, without even bothering to look at the stranger before she made sure that the girl was alright. She wasn't the first to reach her though, for both the French girl, Chéri, and the boy... Alma were already beside her. It slightly irked her that they seemed to care so much about a girl that they supposedly knew so little about, though she quickly shook off the feeling. Alma seemed to be kind enough, and Chéri was friends with him was she not? Though... there was just something off about the older girl that she couldn't quite place her finger on. She didn't like not knowing things, they ended up bugging her and making things worse in the end. Whatever, they didn't seem like much of a problem at the moment.

Though, whenever Chéri would turn away to look at something, her friend would in turn gaze at her with slight worry before also turning to watch in the direction that she was facing.

The red haired man looked up from Elena, and gave the adults a wide smile, with a bit of a sheepish air surrounding him. He walked up to Ms. Lenalee and after scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment, he looked down.

"Sorry Lenalee-chan, about what I said. I was still mad about the old man's death and all of it. I shouldn't have taken it out on ya." With that he turned to the blond haired man beside her, who was gazing at him coolly and without much of a warning poked in in the dead center of the blond man's head, "Besides, it's better to stay in a group, isn't it, Two-Speck?" Mr. Link's eyes, at that, got impossibly cooler, and without a single thought brought his right fist across the other's left cheekbone.

"Don't test me." he muttered darkly, and all that he was responded with was a childish whine and a, "Wahh! Two-Speck's gotten even meaner since I've been gone." Green eye brightened for a moment, and there was a dramatic intake of breath, "I bet that since you have taken Yuu-chan's place as the 'Angry Grouch' then that mean that Yuu-chan's finally calmed do~"

He wasn't even able to finish the sentence when a long, very sharp katana pointed itself right in his face and he looked some-what scared into emotionless steel eyes, "Shut the hell up Rabbit, and don't call me by my first name."

The red haired man simply smirked and taking two fingers pushed the blade away from his neck with a small chuckle, "You don't have to be so hard about it Yuu..."

The two continued to bicker, and the other adults laughed, though when the Asian got fed up with the other man, he took out his Mugan one again, yelled, "Die Rabbit!" and proceeded to chase the other man around the perimeter of the group circle.

Minnie stopped laughing, for out of the corner of her eyes she noticed both of Japanese man's charges had stopped talking to each other, and were both gazing off into the distance. After a moment of watching the two she realized what Chéri was staring so intently at in the far off distance, "Is that a cloud?" She asked, and she noticed that Alma's hands were flicking to the pack of cards in his back pocket, and that the adults too were looking in to the sun-set distance.

A black cloud, no not a cloud, but a _swarm,_a swarm of those demons and they were coming closer by the second.

"_Tarjetas Santas: Reina de Corazones." _Minnie turned after hearing Alma's voice reach a scarce whisper, and he took off, pointing at Chéri to continue to stay there. They weren't going to tell. It was to make the rest not worry when there was no need to in their minds. After all it is better to have a moment of with smiles than one with panic.

Still, even Al was beginning to notice that something was wrong, as he was able to nearly sense the solemness in the air. Turning he, readied his hand on the violin case that was strapped to his back, his dark eyes scanning the looks on his firends' faces.

Soon even the adults had gone silent, and they too looked to the east. Then the shooting started, as the Akuma bullets rained down.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I raced foreword as the villagers began to scream and the soldiers, who had broken away from their ranks in the panic opened fire. I raced foreword as the voice in my head, called out, _"Attack the lowest, then go for the higher levels." _As much as I hate to say this, I have learned to trust the voice as an adviser, seeing as if I hadn't I probably would have died a long time ago. It tells me how to effectively bring down the most of the Akuma without harming myself.

Though as I attack the squads of the enemy, they only replaced one another when one went down. Anger began to fill me, for how many could there be? How many people had sold their souls to the devil? Why would they wish to? What was so effective to the human emotions that a person would give themselves up in order to have it obtained?

The voice gave a small sigh in the back of my head, and I mentally glared at it, and muttered, "What are you sighing about?"

"_The fact that they have not told you about what makes an Akuma annoys me, slightly_." it said, and I rolled my eyes as I stabbed at a Level Three, who disintegrated the moment that my sword touch the inside of it's armor.

"Well then why don't you tell me?" I asked lightly, trying my hardest not to look like I was insane seeing as I was talking to myself. The voice only sighed once again which annoyed me even worse, "Look if you aren't going to tell me, then don't hint at it." I muttered under my breath, slicing a Level Two in half, having blood splatter on my face and clothes.

The voice for once, chuckled, and in the corner of my mind I saw a flash of white, almost like the blanket of thin snow that we get in the front of our house every winter.

_"If I was to tell you what I know and you believed me, then they would go against you as they nearly did with me." _I rolled my eyes: yet another adult telling me that I was too young to understand something, "I don't care, tell me anyway." I murmured, "Why did I alone feel pity for the Akuma that attacked my home, when I should have felt outrage?"

_"You felt that because the Akuma was calling out to you to save it, even if you could not hear it: it is in your blood to vanquish the demons; not because they are the ones that the church tells you to defeat, but because you are one of the few that notice their inner being: their soul." _

Well, my mind went blank and I attempted to decipher what he had just said, while trying not to be killed.

The voice, gave a small, good-hearted laugh at my confusion, and after a moment's thought said,_ "Why don't I just show you?" _White shrouded my vision, and I seemed to fall back as white shrouded me and the areas around my body.

Squinting, I managed to open my eyes so that they would get used to the blindness of the neutral that surrounded me. I quickly registered the fact that the battle was still rushing around me, and tightening my grip on the sword, I looked up. Though I nearly fell back when I did, for what I saw would give me memories that would haunt in my mind forever.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Al looked around as he began to once again play a tune that he barely knew, and watched as the lower level demons fell around him at his feet. He moved the wisps of his black bangs out of his eyes, as his calloused fingers played at the melody desperately. He watched as his little sister helped out his mother in trying to get the fleeing citizens out of the area, he looked on as his best friend clashed metal with metal in her fight with the Akuma. He listened to the tune that he found himself playing, a song that his mother used to sing whenever Minerva or he had a nightmare.

A slow calloused tune. With a wry grin he wondered what would happen if he tried to bring the speed up a notch. So, after a slight moment's hesitation that nearly killed him, he began to play a much faster, more up-beat dance song that his father had taught him to play a few years back when he had finally began to play with seriousness. Playing music was one of the few things that his father (who was a professional musician, even with his blindness) and he seemed to have in common in his eyes, though to everyone else they seem to be carbon copies of one another.

That was why for a time, he had nearly stopped playing. He had never wanted to be the boy in his father's shadow, he didn't really want to be the perfect boy that no one ever noticed because he didn't do anything.

Though he remembered the one person that had given him enough hope to continue. Truth be told, for a time in his life, actually for most of his life Elena had really only been a sister's friend, she never really crossed his mind. That was until one day, (When he had locked himself up in his room after saying to both his parents that he was not going to go to the performance that he had been placed in.) when she had come in to his room, without even knocking, mind you, and said, "You could do better on the high notes."

Well, at first, he had not only thrown her out, but also locked and barricaded the door so that he was sure that she would not be able to come in and disturb him in his pout.

Though soon something sparked within him and he allowed her in for some odd reason, and told her to sit and listen for any mistakes that he could have made else where. It was soon a routine practice and so far she was the only one that he had ever let in to the disaster zone that was his room besides his parents. That was how thier friendship had started, and soon he was attempting to not only prove himself to her, but also to the people who considered him a 'nobody'. He was willing to show them that he wasn't just a boy trapped in the shadows of perfection. Hell no.

A smirk crossed his lips as he muttered, "Shadow's Reel." and he stood playing with the back ground tempo of the Akuma screaming while their bodies were devoured by threstrals of shadows ran around him.

Though after a moment, he stopped as a jolt of power rushed past his left and he immediately turned to see what was going on.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Lavi looked around the area that he was fighting as the Akuma began to slowly thin and nearly retreat before meeting either Yuu-chan's or his swings of power. He looked down to see the other one still hacking down demon after demon with unnerving accuracy. The way that the Japanese man crouched was like a snake ready to stirke... no not a snake, a black panther, was unremarkable. A Black Panther? Yeah, that was it, he and _Jiji_... no wait, _Jiji _and he, (Correct grammar was always important to a Bookman, for they could never make mistakes in their documents, for that would make them look ignorant and illegible. And he wasn't one for that, thank yooou.)

Instinctivly he took a swing with _Ōzuchi Kozuchi _at something as it moved out of the corner of his vision, and lo and behold, he found a very pissed off Kanda Yuu glaring at him. It seemed as though the little Akuma he had just attempted to kill was Yuu-chan's long, black tress. Thank god he hadn't used one of the Fire Seals, cause if Yuu-chan's hair just so happened to get singed, he would be a speared and stewed rabbit.

Though within a moment his attentive eye caught a hold of something in the distance, and after squinting to make sure that what he saw wasn't a mirage. For there before his very eyes was Crown Clown, it's white cape billowing in an un-noticed wind, the silver mask twinkling in the pale light, and looking at them.

The plate of metal turned upward slightly, as if smiling as a young female scream of shock and terror entered the air.

* * *

Raise your hand if you love Lavi! (Raises hand) He is one of the funniest and best characters in the whole series! Kanda is awesome in his dark, slightly scary way, but Lavi is just hilarious at times, and to me it is that quality that makes the moments that he goes serious so in-depth. ;P

I am sorry for the slight delay, one of my _dear _brothers decided that it would be funny to see my reaction when he not only went into my bedroom and found my passwords sheet that I keep in my journal, but also delete half the things in my inventory, like two stories that I had been working on for almost two GOD DAMNING YEARS!!

Character Charts:

_Name: _Minerva Marie also known as Minnie

_Birthday_: April 23

_Age_: 16

_Place of Birth_: Britain

_Description_: She as been Elena's best friend for as long as either of the two can remember. She is the younger of the two children that Noise and Miranda had when they decided to settle down and live a normal life after the fall of the Exorcists. She is highly energetic with a slight shy streak. Being a very loyal friend she will stick to her companions like a mother hen, even when there are some in the group that she would rather not be around. She will have gut feelings about a person and go by those feelings, even if they tell her not to trust a person. After she thinks that you are not trust-worthy it is nearly impossible to regain that trust. She also will hold horrible grudges, and she will not let go of them, even if they were made when she was a toddler. She is one of the only children in the second generation that does not have a Innocence and feels slightly envious of Chéri due to the fact that the older girl has become so close to Elena in such little time and is such a good fighter. She seems to be interested in Alma. All-in-all she is a very good friend, even with the slightly bad habits.

_Likes_: Reading, running, listening to her brother's music, singing, and Elena.

_Dislikes: _Loud noises, blood, people who hurt her family or friends.

Translations:

_"Tarjetas Santas: Reina de Corazones," _Holy Cards, Queen of Hearts, Spanish

_'Ōzuchi Kozuchi' _Little Hammer, Big Hammer, Japanese

_'Jiji' _Grandpa-informal Japanese

Please Read and Review!! :)

Marine


	7. A Screwed up Family

Thanks for the reviews, and all the wonderful support that people have given me in my writing. Please continue to do so! I will be very happy if you do. :) Time to give a special thanks to _Mesonoxian_ who has reviewed faithfully to me with every chapter! :)

* * *

_Though within a moment his attentive eye caught a hold of something in the distance, and after squinting to make sure that what he saw wasn't a mirage. For there before his very eyes was Crown Clown, it's white cape billowing in an un-noticed wind, the silver mask twinkling in the pale light, and looking at them._

_The plate of metal turned upward slightly, as if smiling as a young female scream of shock and terror entered the air._

The battlefield was silent for a moment, then there was a blind panic of the few offenders of the city, as they attempted to reach their only true reason to hope in winning the war that they were fighting so desperately for. Though the aid was unneeded, seeing as after a moment had gone by, the long tatters of the Crown Clown's cloak had been lifted into the air, and a steely voice, one almost unknown to the listeners burst out of the girl's mouth, "CROWN CLOWN: DEATH BALL!" Jerking her sword arm back the girl moved as fluidly in battle as any warrior would. Her actions were followed by a litter of explosions which destroyed any living thing that they scarcely touched. Akuma blood splattered everywhere as a thin cover of gore flew in all directions.

The long tears in the cape, suddenly jerked out, as if unable to withhold themselves any longer in the want for bloodshed. They shot out in random ways, sharp as knives as they peirced the bodies of the demons.

The Akuma around the teen immediately began flattering back, sensing a change in the girl's power and emotions: an angered and slightly sympathetic veil that covered her from the rest. Though they too were soon taken out as all too familiar playing cards dove into them like a downpour of deadly needles.

The others barely had to lift a finger to finish the rest, and the moment that they did so, they turned to see the two others, one supported by the other as they soared to them on what looked to be one of the young male's cards. A Queen of Hearts.

~.~.~0~.~.~

The moment that Alma had laid eyes from above on the girl below, he had known that something was wrong. The way that she had carried herself as she fought was too skilled for anyone who had been in as few battles as she had. The moment that Elena had used those well known moves he knew that she was in need of aid, and that someone was already giving her that help in using her body as a channel to unleash fearsome attacks.

She was like a candle, flickering violently in a gust of wind before it is put out. She was about to go out.

He looked at her now, and saw that her face was pale, and her gray eyes were closed in an attempt to regain the energy that she had used. The white garment that shrouded her body and his, seemed to take her in, and obscure her from the world like a thick mist. As if it was trying to protect her.

When the others reached him he was jumping down from the large platform-like piece of wax paper, and the moment that he did so it shrank in size greatly, until it was the same area of the other normal, non-used cards. Though the moment that it did, he noticed the large slit that was on the side, and giving a small sigh, he placed the deck back into his left pants pocket. There was another one that he couldn't use for a time.

Looking up, he found the others around him, and he gave a tired smile as he handed the still form that was leaning against him to Señor Marie, and turning to the red-haired man, whose name he believed to be Lavi, and asked, "Are there any cheap places to stay a while until the panic has died down?"

The man gave a nod and a chippy reply of, "Yep, matter a fact the place that I have been staying at for a time is free! It's only outside the city, around a ten minute walk, or fly." he eyed the boy's pocket, hoping that his reason would get across, though the teen only shook his head, saying, "The only card that I can do that with is ripped, so we're going to have to walk. If that's okay with you all?" He looked back, and found the rest of the group either nodding or staring at him tiredly.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Lenalee watched as her daughter stirred in the large man's arms, and a small bit of relief intertwine with the pool of worry and curiosity. The questions that were burning in her mind, though all that she as able to do, was pat the soft brown bangs that were plastered to the girl's face with sweat.

She really did look like her father... or at least the man that was her father. _Allen..._

What had happened to him? When had he turned from the man that she had cared so much about, to the monster that she had fought not two weeks ago? She looked back down at the sleeping young woman who in her eyes had only turned from a toddler to an adult in the blink of an eye. Had the years really gone by that quickly?

She looked up to the brightly lit sky, and shook her head in disgust with the God that was looking down at them. Had she not given him enough to just let her and her family be? What had she done that wasn't right? It didn't matter, she didn't care about what anyone thought or said about her as long as her family was not harmed by it. And that included what the being in the sky believed.

Her head turned upon hearing Lavi's voice calling out to her, and she realized that they had stopped outside an old Victorian structure. It had a small garden that was well kept, a cobblestone that led to the door, and ivy crawling up an old oak arbor, which created a canopy of shade for a pair of rocking-chairs.

It looked far too much like an old grandmother's house for comfort and she really did not want to find out that Lavi had, A. Been mooching off some poor elderly couple and forcing out of house and home, or B. Found a wife in the past years.

She looked to find that her daughter's still form was slowly stirring, and finally pale eyes opened to slits, and she shot up without much of a warning, hitting her forehead on Timcampy who had been worriedly fluttering around her, which caused her to start howling in pain and him to have one of his small horns dented.

Lavi was all he while laughing and soon led the group into the cozy living areas, and a voice called out to him from the kitchen, were if you looked closely smoke seemed to be coming out of. Suddenly a man rushed out to see them.

~.~.~0~.~.~

The man in front of us looked down with gray-blue eyes and light sandy blond hair that seemed to fall into natural spikes. His face seemed to be smudged with a type of black soot, and he was lightly coughing. My guess was that he didn't come out here to beat us to the ground for being loud, but instead he attempted to flee a cooking experiment gone horribly wrong. My theory was prove correctly when a second or so later there was a small explosion of green slop that landed in the kitchen doorway.

The moment that the man saw Lavi his eyes lit up with recognition, though as they began to scan over us they were clouded with confusion then the inquiring look faded and followed shortly after with an emotion that was complete shock.

Stuttering out in a slightly horrified-all-the-while-mystified voice he asked, "Lenalee... Lenalee Lee is that you?"

I turned to my mother, not knowing who in the world this man was, though after a moment her eyes too grew wide in shock and she soon flung herself into his arms screaming something along the lines of, "REEVER!"

Well, all us kids just had to stand back as once again our dear parents hed another one of thier reuions, and we once again had no earthly idea who this one was.

The blond man, Reever was soon bombarded with questions, though he looked at us each slowly, taking us all in before answering the questions that the adults wished to hear.

"How did you escape? I heard that you were killed in the Akuma raid!" Mom cried, her head still buried in his shoulder. He gave a small smile before answering her question with a pat on the back, "I crawled out with some of the others down the underground waterway, and out into the countryside."

My Uncle soon turned to Lavi with a cold glare, and asked, "Bookman if you were staying here then why did you not contact us to tell us that they were still alive?"

Lavi just shook his head with a slightly angered air, "When have you ever written me back? The letters that I sent the first few months after I left were never answered Two-speck."

Reever looked at me with ind eyes after finishing with the grown-ups and held out a calloused hand, "I'm Reever Welham, it is a pleasure to meet you Miss..." he trialled off, trying to remember if he had ever seen me before, I finished it for his, "Elena, I am Lenalee's daughter."

A look of horror crossed his face, and he immediatly looked around the group, trying to find similar features. Though I smiled, "My father was Allen Walker."

He have a slight nod, though still looked uneasy. But soon the crease of worry disappeared and with a grin he rested his left hand on the top of my head and ruffed my short bangs.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Elena." he said, and there was a loud clatter of glass, and we looked to see my mother with her pale hands resting on her lips in shock, her eyes nearly over brimming with hope, as she muttered, "Reever, if you are here, then, is Komui~"

She was cut off by the swing of a door, and a male voice calling out, "Reever-san? Are you alright? I heard something crash." The steady pound of footsteps entered my ears, as we all turned to see another slightly older man in the doorway.

His longish black hair was peppered with small streaks of gray, though they seemed to be more from stress than anything seeing as his face was relatively young, and there were creases near his eyes that were created by many smiles. There was a gray colored barrette that was fashioned slightly crooked onto the top of his thick scalp. His slightly slanted eyes glimmered with a curious but at the same time welcoming mix. Taking in his features I noted the similarity not only to my mother's oriental features but also mine seeing as we had the same colored skin and the same straight nose.

There was silence for a moment, as everyone took in the moment of this situation, before my mother rose shakily, as if unsure what to do, though both Reever and Lavi grinned at the other, and gave her a slight push in the direction of the man and that was all that she needed to start running.

A cry of, "Nii-san!" Burst past her lips as she collided with the older adult, tears streaming down her face, though for once they were tears of joy instead of sorrow. He just stood there for a moment, seemingly too shocked to do anything but stand there his mouth half open, unable to allow the words that were wreaking havoc in his mind out.

Though after a moment's time the fit had passed him and he immediately embraced her to him.

The words, "Welcome home, Lenalee." Escaped his lips as a sob as he tightened the hug, then looked around slightly misty eyed at all of us, and after a few moments he regained a minute amount of composure.

He soon looked over us all, and my mother began to introduce him to all of us kids. First Alma, then Minnie, Chéri followed soon after, Alistair after that, seeing as he had gotten into a conversation with Reever about what I think was Quantum Physics, and lastly me.

"This is Elena, Nii-san, she is my _daughter." _She stated slowly as if he would not understand, though all that he did was look at all the males in the room with an icy glare, causing each of them either raised his arms in surrender, or stared back with the same cool gaze. Though it was only Uncle Link that overpowered his glare of death with one of his own, and soon there was a loud crash.

The older male had pulled out a_ freakin' big ass drill._

"So you are the traitorous leech." his voice had gone from quite chirpy to deadly within a matter of seconds, "YOU WERE THE ONE WHO DEFILED MY BEAUTIFUL LENALEE!"

Uncle Links simply remained calm, and said quite clearly, "I assure you, Supervisor, I have done nothing of the sort, Ms. Lee is simply a guest in my home that pays for her daughter and herself with her cooking." Mom shook her head good naturally with a wave of her hand, "No, no, your cooking beats mine."

The man, who I presumed was Komui was now charging up the drill and placing his safety helmet on, screaming, "LIES ALL LIES!"

"Sir, if you wish to punish the girl's father then you will have to find Allen Walker." my Uncle muttered venomously, and after a moment of silence there was a screech of, "GOD CURSE YOU ALLEN WALKER!"

I was now backing away slowly, though there was soon a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Reever, his eyes glinting humorously, though I had no idea what was so damn funny.

"Elena, meet your Uncle, Komui Lee." What. The. Crap?

Komui looked at me, the drill discarded somewhere in the hallway, as he made his way toward to my slightly trembling figure. Smiling warmly he reached out a hand, and said politely, "Good day to you."

I responded shakily, grasping his larger palm with mine, "And to you."

His black eyes scanned my face behind their glasses for a moment before his face broke into a wide grin, squealing, "YOU'RE SO CUTE!"

There was a beeping sound and he turned and ran off, crying about something messing with his beloved Komuins. Leaving me stunned, "I have an Uncle?" I asked wheeling around to face my 'family', who nodded.

"According to yourself you have many." Kanda grumbled, and I let out a hiss, one that I learned from a neighborhood cat, and said, "Shush your mouth, Auntie."

Lavi cracked a smile at that and poked the Asian man on the forehead, "'Auntie', eh Yuu?" He was only responded with a grumble as Komui called for Reever's assistance with something.

The blond man cursed and without noticing my following him, walked into the kitchen and down the stairs that lead to what looked like the basement.

The other kids followed my lead though we all stopped for a moment, and stared at what was before us. Giddiness rushed through my veins as I saw the heaven of my dreams, for standing on front of me was an entire laboratory just waiting for me to explore it.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Al didn't even have time to reach out before she was gone, whooping like a small child on Christmas, searching through endless test-tubes with delicate fingers. Great, she had gone into Dream Mode again. And when she was in that there was no stopping her.

He too began to fiddle around with things, what looked to him like miniature versions of the little bird-thing that followed his friend around everywhere... Timcampy, wasn't that what its name was?

Frowning, he placed the small feathers on to the delicate wings, the tiny peices of metal glinting with a soft copper. He looked at the ball that was going to be the body, and smiled. It was nearly four times smaller than the original that was flying around somewhere, probably raiding the cabinets in the kitchen.

He listened contently as Elena called out to her one, 'real' Uncle, and after a moment heard them both squealing as he took her hand began to lead her around the lab. Great, now he had to deal with another science freak in this 'family'.

He watched as Minvera and Alma tapped on what looked to be a glass aquarium and laughed as they both shrieked when a giant Venus Fly-Trap came out of no where and took a bite out of Minnie's hair.

What a big family they were... a messed up, absolutely insane family.

* * *

Character Charts:

_Name: _Alistair also goes by Al

_Birthday_: July 17

_Age_: 18

_Place of Birth_: Britain

_Description_: A quiet, though loyal teenage musician. He is the older brother of Minerva 'Minnie' Marie, and the only son of Marie and Miranda. He was gifted with his Dad's talents for music, though while he refuses to outshine his father, he also will not stand back and simply be put away as the son who is perfect and therefore be over looked. He is good friends with Elena and to some extent, his sister, and is the only calm person in the trio's group. Though that is true he is always willing to meet new people, and learns to trust people with great ease, much unlike his sister. He, at times, can't see the flaws in anyone but himself, though normally will quit pouting the moment that Elena tells him to. He has become good friends with Alma, and is always int-rested in the way that the other boy has lived and what the places that he visited were like. Unlike the never ending energy of his sister, he would much rather shut himself up in his room, writing and playing music. He has a strong bond with his father, much like Minnie and their mother.

_Likes_: Quiet, peace, Elena, most any types of food, Cultures, and playing music.

_Dislikes: C_leaning, exercising, being over-looked, grammar, and Math

Translations:

_"Tarjetas Santas: Reina de Corazones," _Holy Cards, Queen of Hearts, Spanish

_'Ōzuchi Kozuchi' _Little Hammer, Big Hammer, Japanese

_'Jiji' _Grandpa-informal Japanese

Please Read and Review! :)

Marine


	8. Ordinary Day

Thanks for the reviews, and all the wonderful support that people have given me in my writing. Please continue to do so! I will be very happy if you do. :) Time to give a special thanks to _Mesonoxian_ who has reviewed faithfully to me with every chapter! :)

* * *

_"BOOM!" _Kanda felt the house rattle under his hands for the seventeenth time in less than ten minutes. Ten seconds later, there was a duo of equally insane giggles that erupted from the basement/ lab.

He felt his teeth grind in irritation, and he closed his mind to all intruders, trying to block out the sounds of madness that this house of hell had to offer. There was the soft clink of china, and when he cracked open an eye to see Chéri place what looked to be a cup of green tea beside him.

He gave off a barely audible grunt that one could assume to be a, "Thank you." then went back to trying to meditate before another explosion shattered his concentration. He felt his hand tingle to where he had Mugan, which was lying peacefully by his side. Though it wouldn't be staying that way for long. Silently he rose and exited his room without even so much as a farewell to the two teens that were playing chess on a table near the window.

Alma, too, rose and shut the door swiftly when the there was the sound of a door being kicked open accompanied with the sound of a pair of screaming relatives. Alma, then walked back to his seat and after looking at the board for a moment, said solemnly, "Check."

~.~.~0~.~.~

"NOOO! ALENA, DON'T GO OUTSIDE: THERE ARE MONSTERS LIKE GERMS, AKUMA, AND... AND... AND... _BOYS_ OUT THERE!" Once again I attempted to shake my now hysterical Uncle off my leg as I tried to exit the doorway without scaring the neighbors.

"Nii-san, Elena will be fine, she can handle things by herself." Mom smiled gently, trying to be reassuring, while she also tried to force him to let go of my limb, though it was fruitless.

"Come on, it's just shopping." Al stated, though he was soon given the Glare of Death, and a scream of, "YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY DARLING NIECE, DON'T YOU?"

"For the last time, I am not interested in starting a relationship with my best friend, GOT THAT?" Al yelled, finally losing his temper, and he proceeded to whack Komui over the head with his violin case.

I took the opportunity to run. By the sounds of footsteps behind me, I was pretty sure that either Al was being forced out of the house never to return again or Uncle was attempting to go after me in a vain try to halt me in my tracks... like that would work.

I continued running until I couldn't hear the commotion anymore, which was only after I had run about a mile or two. Looking back, I was relieved to see Al instead of the other option.

It wasn't that I was getting tired of Uncle Komui... okay, yeah I was. But that was only because he wouldn't even let Alma or Alistair within a ten foot radius of me without A. Yelling something about sexual harassment, or B. Throwing a fit, and sending one of his multiple robot creations at us.

I stopped, gasping for breath, and smiled at my friend, who looked like he was about to pass out from the amount of exercise that he was just forced to partake in.

"If... you... ever... run... like... that... again, I WILL THROTLE YOU!" Al roared, his black bangs clinging to his forehead with sweat, then he doubled over, trying to drink in the oxygen that he desperately needed.

"Ha, well seeing as we're here, want to go shopping with me?" I knew that I saw a glimmer of agitation and slight paranoia flash in his eyes, and he said worriedly, "Do you have money?" I nodded.

"So you won't make me pay, and or play my violin for money like you did last time... will you?" I shook my head vigorously.

He sighed in relief, "Sure then, I'll come."

Though immediately, at one look at the grin that was plastered on my face he stilled, realizing the important question that he had forgotten.

"Elena... don't even think abo~" I was already dragging him, kicking and screaming down the street into one of the men's clothing stores. I love Paris.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Ally! Why won't you come out?" I pouted, trying to grab on to his arm as he attempted to scramble back to the sanctuary of the poor store. (I'm pretty sure that he even left claw marks on the door.)

"Because I look ridiculous, that's why!" came the betrayed and childish reply from the eighteen year old.

"There isn't anyone that we know here!" I contradicted, but was only given a, "The hell if they aren't, this is just down-right wrong!"

"You... don't... look ... that ... BAD!" I finished, finally yanking him away from the shop.

I had managed to force him into a pair of brown cargo pants, a blue polo shirt, and placed a tan three-panel hat on his head. In my opinion he looked quite handsome... though in his point of view, he appeared to think that it was just as revolting as going out in your birthday suit.

"I look like a five year old!" he raged, and I shot back, "Well you're acting like one, too!"

That got him: he slumped down and began to fiddle with his violin case, which he carries around everywhere.

Great: I put him into Depressed Mode, this happened nearly every time that we went shopping together, either that or I would forget my money and make him pay. He looked at me sideways, pouting. Damn he had the puppy dog eyes down flat... he was even better than Minnie at it, and that was saying a lot.

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that... come on, we haven't even gone to half the shops yet!" Damn: he just slumped impossibly lower.

"Look, how about we go and get ice-cream and then find a music shop. My treat." His ears pricked up at the words, 'Music Shop', and he looked up hopefully.

One, two, three...

"LET'S GO!" Ha, knew he'd take the bait. We soon were in front of the closest sweets shop, licking away at the sweet, frozen cream and sugar mixture.

Looking around as my eyes habitually scanned around the plaza for awaiting danger, I noted a young girl around the age of eleven gazing through the glass at the taffy being made with a longing look on her pale face. Her short black hair fell around her ears, and her dark eyes seemed to be a honey-brown color. Maybe she didn't have the money to buy an ice-cream...

I reached into my pocket, thinking of grabbing the money that Mom had given me, only to come up with air. Oh, shit.

"_Alll.....?"_ He looked at me wary, knowing the 'I'm-broke-and-since-you're-my-friend-can-I-borrow-some-money' tone all too well.

"What?" he asked.

"I want to get that little girl ice-cream 'cause what if she doesn't have the money to ever pay for one, but I don't have it 'cause I sent it all on your clothes, so can I borrow a couple Euros?"

His eyes turned straight into cloudy rain-clouds and I readied myself to both defend and fight for my life or run and scream like a little girl, while attracting attention. That is always the best thing to do when you get Al mad: draw a crowd: he hates to be the center of the attention.

"Here."

I looked down at his open palm were there was a small wad of banknotes and a glimmer of coins. What?

"Huh?"

"What? You asked for money." Oh crap, he was _pissed off. _I knew it, he had to be: he was never like this unless he was.

Fearing for my very life, I got up and entered the store as quick as I could without looking like a fool.

Though not before I tripped and fell up the stairs leading to the shop, causing quite a few humored chuckles.

~.~.~0~.~.~

_God, that girl needed to learn how to control her spending habits._

Al gave a small sigh, as he plucked at the invisible dust specks off of his new blue shirt, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. She never would learn, would she?

He watched silently through the glass as his friend paid for the ice-cream for a girl that she didn't even know. Her brown hair was bouncing as if trying to comply with her mood. That polite though still quirky smile was back on her face.

He never understood how she could just get used to things: how she could simply take an ordinary thing and find the best thing about it through all the plainness. It made no sense. He looked on as she walked out, skipping clumsily, almost tripping at least three different times. She slowly approached the girl and handed the frozen treat down to her. The child's face lit up first in shock, then in happiness as she gratefully accepted the gift. Then reaching out of her bag which she was carrying, the Girl pulled out a fruit: a pomegranate by the looks of it, then rushed away with one last thanks.

Elena skipped over to him, a large ear-to-ear grin covering her face, and she held it down for him to see, and said, "Want some?"

He shook his head quietly, as she slapped him on the back, "Come on, don't be so shy!" she chided giddily, and he finally returned her smile.

"Yum, you really should try this, it tastes wonderful." Elena said, and once again he shook his head, tilting his head back to look at the sky, where blue sky gleamed down at him. Al felt his eyes slowly close.

Then suddenly all was silent and he found himself looking into pitch blackness.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I found myself falling, falling into a seemingly endless pit, I couldn't do anything, only scream... until I crumpled onto the ground that is. Or at least what I thought was ground.

"AHHHH! OWWww..." I landed ungracefully on my back and immediately my vision clouded while pain fogged my brain.

Shakily, I sat up and blearily took in my surroundings. What I was surrounded in looked to be a toy shop from Hell. There was dried blood on the walls and flattened stuffed animals that had lost all their fluff in the past years. China dolls with shattered bodies gazed at me listlessly with blank eyes.

Suddenly reality forced its way into my injured head where a knot was beginning to form.

"Al!" I croaked, though only me echo answered my call; I tried again, "Alistair!" My raised voice resounded off the dark walls before bouncing back to ring in my ear drums.

Stumbling foreword I reached for a crack in the wall thinking that it might lead me out into another room. Instead the moment that I stepped my foot outward, I tumbled and was forced to hold on to the sides for balance because beyond the room was thin air. Maniacal laughter filled my ears hauntingly and a childish voice asked sickeningly, "Do you want to play too?"

I spun on my heels, rushing around, ready to be attacked, only to find that the person in front of me was the little girl.

With a closer look at her pitch-black, almost blue hair and twisted smile a horrible sense of déjà vu filled me, as well as a very sharp pain coming from my arm making its way to my mind.

"Hey Voice." I muttered, and after a moment I was answered with a strained, "Yes?"

"What the heck should I do right about now?" There was a soft sigh and of the Voice had fingers and a head I am pretty sure that he would be rubbing his temples when he said, "Find your friend and get the bloody hell out of there!"

Keeping my eyes glued to the girl, whose smile was widening with every passing second I did a quick intake of the surrounding area. No doors.

"If you can't find an exit, just make one. Until then, just sit back and watch the show!" she snickered and walked closer. I summoned my sword in order to warn her off, though suddenly shadows began to move and fill the room so that after a moment of transformation it took the form of strange ruins. The girl had vanished into thin air and the sounds of fighting filled my ears.

A band of warriors rushed past me, all of them only a few years older than myself. Squadrons of Akuma rushed after them in the largest number that I have ever witnessed.

The shadows rippled and within an instant, bloody beings, the very warriors that had surrounded me a moment ago came back into view.

Two of the three girls were on the ground, still, their chests not rising nor falling. A pool of red blood flowed beneath them like a river, carrying away their weary minds.

One of the girls had long, black hair. It was plaited into cornrows and pushed up into a messy ponytail. Her skin rivaled the color of amber, though it was an ashen color: grayed by the touch of death. Her face was peacefully serene and she could have been just as easily sleeping instead of drawing her final breaths on this earth. If only that were the case…

The other's long brown hair was caked with mud and gore and her once blue eyes were now a clouded gray. At one time she might have been as beautiful and free-spirited as a dove, who could tell now? A man kneeled beside her, his short, sweat-darkened locks covering his eyes, masking away any emotion that might escape him.

There were two figures in the distance: one male and one female. The woman seemed to be sobbing uncontrollably, her long brown hair mixed with blood so that it glinted a rusted scarlet. The man holding her patted her head sympathetically, not knowing what else he could do that would ease her pain. His tan skin was layered with a coat of grime and there were long forgotten tear tracks trailing down his soil-colored cheekbones. His eyes were hardened by war, though at the moment they held enough sadness that would drive an ordinary man to madness.

Even so, there was something forcing him to hold back his own pain, something making him to put on a shattered façade that everything would turn out alright. Suddenly the silence lifted from my ears and the Man's voice came to me through the barrier that time had created. His tone was worn and gravelly though it was one that I knew all too well.

"I'm sorry, Elena... I'm so sorry." Al's voice: that was Alistair's voice!

I felt my world around me begin to crumble as I whirled around to face the bodies of the two girls. Two people that I knew as my friends... my family. Two people that were going to leave me.

_Chéri and Minerva._

* * *

Okay people, I'm so sorry for the skip last time, I was having one heck of time with school and keeping all my grades as an A or B average like my dear parents want. Not to mention that I got grounded because of a bad test grade... damn mathematics: I'M A LANGAUGE AND BIOLOGY GEEK FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I WON'T BE USEING TRIGANOMETRY IN MY DISTANT FUTURE AS A VETERNARIAN AND PART-TIME WRITER! Whew, okay, I'm done. Anyway, I promise that I will continue the updates at the normal two-week period. Thank you for your cooperation! :)

Translations:

_"Tarjetas Santas: Reina de Corazones," _Holy Cards, Queen of Hearts, Spanish

_'Ōzuchi Kozuchi' _Little Hammer, Big Hammer, Japanese

_'Jiji' _Grandpa-informal Japanese

Please Read and Review! :)

Marine :)


	9. A 'Peaceful' Meeting

Thanks for the reviews, and all the wonderful support that people have given me in my writing. Please continue to do so! I will be very happy if you do. :) Time to give a special thanks to _Mesonoxian_ who has reviewed faithfully to me with every chapter! :)

* * *

_I felt my world around me begin to crumble as I whirled around to face the bodies of the two girls. Two people that I knew as my friends... my family. Two people that were going to leave me._

**_Chéri and Minerva._**

My eyes were trained on their broken forms and after a moment of shock something rushed past my guard, clawing at my throat, begging to be released into the air.

I couldn't help it, I didn't even know that I had even started. I found myself screaming, screaming until my voice was breaking and then continuing. I did not take note of the tears that were rushing through my eyes. I felt my mind breaking away from reality, I could only scream into the empty air.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Al awoke with a start to a desperate cry that came from the darkness. His entire body numbed with strange pain that was running through his spine and halting at his left leg. Dread filled him as he attempted to move his left ankle. He felt in horror as his foot refused to come to life no matter how many times he willed it. Even as mind-numbing pain filled his mind, fogging it. Oh God.

His train of thoughts began to wander away from him to the house that he knew that his family awaited for both Elena and his return which should be happening any minute. Wait... shit: Elena!

"Elena!" He called out hoarsely, struggling up to his feet, only to collapse to one side the moment that he placed weight on his left foot.

"Elena!" Terror filled his being: where was she? Had she woken up alone as well? Al hoped so... he didn't want to face the other option: that she was fighting someone, the devil that ruled this land of nightmares, all alone and most likely injured or~ no he couldn't think like that.

But still what was he supposed to do: he didn't even know where he was! He took a deep breath trying to calm himself.

Then clearness filled his mind and an all too familiar melody entered in place of fear.

_And the boy falls asleep ,_

_The flame inside the breathing ashes._

_One, then two,_

_The floating swelling, the dear profile._

_Thousands of dreams, dreams that pour upon this earth. _

_One the night when the silver eyes swing,_

_The shining you, who was born._

_Millions of years, _

_No matter how many millions of years, _

_Return prayers to this earth. _

_I continue praying,_

_Love for the last. _

He remembered that song: it was the one that Elena always attempted to sing along when he tried to play the melody that she had given him as a birthday present one year when they were kids.

He looked down at his leg, which he found to be bleeding. He might not be able to go to her, though perhaps she would be able to~

His hands floated fluidly over the violin case opening it with callused fingers that were, all the same, gentle as one could be.

The music sheet became pictured in his mind as he lifted the instrument and rested it against he chin.

If he couldn't go to her, then by the power of God allow for her to hear the music.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I felt my whole body shake as that girl's voice came back to me laughing hysterically, "Do you feel the pain? The pain of losing someone that you care about? Hehe... HA HA HA!"

I turned to look at her with fury burning in my veins, "Where's Alistair? Who are you?" I demanded.

She attempted to control herself from laughing, and looked at me with bright golden eyes that were laced with malice, her left hand hiding the smirk that she had plastered across her face while enjoying my pain.

"Does it matter were the boy is? Does he really matter all that much to you?" I bit my tongue at her tone which was a mixture of false concern and bitterness. What had I done to get this girl mad?

"You're probably wondering A. where you are, or B. why I brought you here. The answer is simple, of course. You are in my world of dreams, like it? The reason that I brought you here is also quite obvious: I'm just wanted to show you what this pathway has in store for you dare you continue to trek it. We, the people of your nightmares, will be your downfall."

Her skin darkened to liquid amber, and her eyes grew an impossibly brighter gold. Smirking she pulled up her black bangs, revealing a neat row of crosses that were embedded into her forehead.

"Do you remember these? Come on, you've already seen them once." she hinted her eyes glowing, and then it hit me.

"Y-You were one of the people that attacked the house!" I cried out in outrage, summoning my Innocence before pointing the blade tip at her.

"Hehe, you really do act just like him! When he was younger that is." Something in her creepy smile was not as murderous as before, and she might have been able to pass off as a little girl once again.

"Why did you show me that memory?" I realized that she was in her own way, aiding me while still seeming to be one of the antagonists.

She threw her head back and let out a laugh, then looked back at me, "Because I owed Allen-chan a lot for multiple things. Now I have done all that I needed to in paying him back. That doesn't mean that I won't kill you if you try to do something stupid."

She seemed like she was half joking and at the same time entirely serious, "You're really creepy." I muttered under my breath and she snorted.

"Thank you, my name, if you want to know, is Roade." She said lightly, and something told me that this conversation was not going to last very long.

Then Roade rested her hand on her chin, thinking, tilting her head to the darkness of the long room.

"What is that noise?" She muttered murderous and annoyed, and suddenly my ears caught a hold of the sound as well: violin music that would most likely have been played better on the piano.

"That song..." she sounded astonished, and I nodded, "AL!"

My voice bounced off the walls, causing the melody to halt in its tracks, and then restart after a moment.

Something whipped past my ear and I jerked around to look back at the girl, her face murderous once again.

"Do you have anger-management problems or something?" I yelled angered, though all that she did was laugh, and the candles that had been floating around dimly lighting the room suddenly sharpened to having a point that rivaled steak knives.

"So now you're going to try and kill me?" I asked, rolling my eyes at the un-creativity of the unfolding events. Roade gave me another shot of that annoying smile before sending another candle at me, then another.

"I never said that I wouldn't kill you." she defended as I split one of her light sources in half before blocking another one.

I charge the girl in front of me and slashed at her, successfully splitting her arm from the rest of her body. She only smirked at my horror as the arm quickly was regenerated, "No fair." I spat, though she only shrugged.

"It depends on which side you're rooting for, in my point of view it is perfectly fair." She reasoned, and I marveled at the amount of time that it took her to switch from being happy to being angered. Did it have something to do with the melody?

She charged me, I blocked. I charged, she easily ducked out of the way. We often clashed together, wrecking havoc in the already-demolished room. We both took the time to size one another up, trying to figure out just how powerful the other was.

The melody was in the back of my mind, seeming to get louder by the second, filling me with a strange hate. The way that the tune seemed to flow simply made me nauseous. I wanted to make it stop, though at the same time that fury at it gave me strength that, at the time, I didn't know that I possessed.

"Death Ball!" The words flew past my lips with ease, creating a number of explosions, sending smoke rushing into the air, blinding the eyes from anything more than a foot away. Something fluttered around my shoulders, and looking down I noted the white material that surrounded my body as a shield. Now it was my turn to smirk.

"Crown Belt!" White ribbons flew from the cloak wrapping themselves around Roade's arms as she attempted to conjure another squad of candles to come and attack me.

A flurry of blood lust flew through my veins and my sword arm moved in a strike to the point where the side of the broad sword rested threateningly on the side of the young-looking girl's neck.

I looked into honey-colored irises, and something within my mind snapped. My left arm jerked back, and then brought itself foreword at a break-neck speed.

There was the sound of steel cutting across air, and a coal-colored lock fluttered softly to the ground. The warning lay thick in the air as Roade looked at me hauntingly her face twisted in an uncharacteristic frown.

"Why didn't you try kill me?" her voice was cool but carried the hint of a shaken child, "This was a warning, tell your leader, who ever he is, that dare he take one more step toward attacking the people that I call my family I will not hesitate in being the bane of yours."

"Why would I be your messenger?" Her voice was now angered at the thought of being a lackey, of an Exorcist no less. I only responded with a small smile, "Because, I spared your life, did I not?"

Her eyes grew wide, and then boiled with anger. The air stilled and the shadows began to once again shift into an illusion. Though just as soon as it started, a male's voice called out, "Heaven's Tune: Soul's Duet! Maker of Eden: Activate!"

A shadow soon loomed over me, and a tangle of vines covered the space around me, making it impossible to attack or to be attacked. It reminded me of Fluer de Morte somewhat, though more peaceful and much more powerful.

"What?" I asked myself, and for a brief moment I thought that I saw a shadow of a man in his forties, his weepy eyes covered by thick glasses, and his curly, mouse-brown hair tied into a loose ponytail. There was a low glow in his hands and while in a flash of bright light he was gone, the glimmer was still there resting on the ground.

A green cube-like object with two rings hovering around it: _Innocence._ Holding the glowing item close I got to my feet. I placed it in my pocket, hoping that it would be cushioned enough.

"AL!" I called out, and was relieved to hear the desperate call of, "Elena! Is that you?" There he was, grasping his musical instrument with a white-knuckled grip. His face washed over with relief, and he attempted to come over to me, only to knell over the moment that he did.

I rushed to his side, "What's the matter, are you hurt?" I clucked worriedly, though all that he did was give me a small smile, and shakily explain, "It's just my ankle, I think that I landed on it wrong when I fell down here." He was soon bowled over as I attempted to hug the last drop of life out of him.

"Elena?" He asked confused, and I looked around, "Where are we?"

He scratched the back of his head, wondering the exact same question, though he still attempted to explain, "One of the attacks that Heaven's Tune releases is an attack that wills one exorcist that has died in the past to return for a slight amount of time and aid me with their Innocence's abilities. I've never used it before, so I really don't know who's this is." He pointed to the vine ceiling.

_Tiedoll. _The name rang in my head, and I tucked it away in my memory. "The question is: how do we get out of here." Al wondered to himself, though as if to comply to his question, the floor cracked and split open and we were soon falling into blackness.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Minnie looked outside the kitchen window at the sun set over the beautiful city of Paris. Where were they? They had never taken this long before, then again she had never been all alone like this since she could remember. A part of her really wished that she had also gotten Innocence, maybe then she wouldn't be so left out.

No, she couldn't think that way, she had to stay positive. _Still..._ she wouldn't have minded going shopping with her two _best friends._

Wait, she tilted her head so that she had a better view of the road, where two figures limped down the road, one battle-worn, the other resting on the other not using his left leg. Oh God.

She darted out of the house with a shocked, "WHAT HAPPENED?"

* * *

Okay people, I AM OUT OF SCHOOL! SUMMER'S HERE BABY! THANK THE LORD AND ALL THE OTHER GODS AND GODDESSES THAT MADE THE WONDERFUL THING THAT IS SUMMER! I can't wait to be able to sleep in until noon and do absolutely nothing except type and work on how to write battle scenes! (They are so hard to write!)

It's time to relax and have the time of my life! I have no worries, I love being a teen with no life. :)

And yes, the song is the same melody that Allen played on the piano. I had my friend play it on his violin, and it actually sound pretty nice!

Translations:

_"Tarjetas Santas: Reina de Corazones," _Holy Cards, Queen of Hearts, Spanish

_'Ōzuchi Kozuchi' _Little Hammer, Big Hammer, Japanese

_'-Chan'_ a term of endearment for girls-informal Japanese

Please Read and Review! :)

Marine :)


	10. Relaxing?

A big and hearty thanks to _ChikitaWolf _for her favorite! Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

Also, I will be gone on a two week vacation so I will not be able to update on the regular time interval, I'll try to have the next chappie up in about three or four weeks. Thank you for your patience. I shall shut myself now.

* * *

_Wait, she tilted her head so that she had a better view of the road, where two figures limped down the road, one battle-worn, the other resting on the other not using his left leg. Oh God._

_She darted out of the house with a shocked, "WHAT HAPPENED?"_

Minnie walked out of the kitchen, a long sigh being drawn out of her dark lips.

"Are they alright?" Alma asked, a worried glance given in the direction of the closed door that led to the eating area. The younger once again heaved a long sigh.

"Yes, for the most part, they are fine. Though Al might have a pretty bad sprain... Oh well: the swelling will go down if the correct amount of care is placed. For the time being he will be forced to take a large amount of pain killers that Mr. Komui proclaims will aid him in healing. Hopefully they won't turn out to be poison." Alma gave a small chuckle at the statement.

She turned to look at him, "What is so funny, eh?"

"The fact that you trust a man that you barely know with something as important to you as your own brother, that is what." He giggled, that was until Chéri slapped him on the back of the head and he took the time to give her a decent glare that would make any other person's soul crumble into little bits.

"Don't be rude." She snapped, her navy eyes glaring.

"_La Stupida_." Alma muttered darkly, then turned to face Minnie once again, and gave her a small smile, "Sorry."

She looked down shaking her head ruefully, "No, you have nothing to apologize for, I just wish to understand your humor!" She looked up to find two pairs of eyes fixed steadfast on her in slight confusion, "_Ce qui vous signifient_?"

"My humor?" Alma tilted his head, attempting to translate the word in his Spanish speaking head, "OH, what it's that I find funny?"

At the nod of the girl's head he collapsed on to one of the cream-colored armchairs.

"I just really don't get why other people trust one another so much, that's all: a personal matter." The smile was becoming a bit strained, and with that the only boy in the room jumped up, and left the room with an, "I'm thirsty, want drinks anyone?"

"Wow, I'm surprised that he told you that much." Minnie looked at the older girl with slight distrust.

"What do you mean?"

"His father: that is the personal matter." Minnie gazed at her curious, "You mean Mr. Kanda?"

There was a soft giggle, "No, his real father, the one that gave him the cards to begin with. He left Alma and his mother when the brat was five. His mom soon died right after in an Akuma raid. That's how he met the General, a lone little boy in this cruel world."

"You take a sick enjoyment in saying that... don't you?"

There was a dark chuckle, "You have no idea how much I dislike that guy."

"Why do you two hate one another so much?"

"None of your business, now, I shall go fetch the idiot... before he goes and makes something explode again and force us to take the same accommodations that we had in Moscow." With that she, too, left the room.

"Oh my god, they are such a weird pair." Minnie muttered to herself before collapsing on the couch and closing her eyes. Though only for a moment.

"Psst... Minnie-san... PSST!" She jerked up, to be confronted with exuberant black eyes glinting from beneath their glasses.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the girl screeched softly, then after a moment of catching her breath she managed to collect herself.

"What is it Mr. Komui?" She asked, still trying to regulate her breathing.

"I have something that I want to ask you, come on." He whispered beckoning energetically, and hesitantly, she followed.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"What is it, Mr. Komui?" Minnie asked, and the man looked around fervently before stating, "Do you wish to be a wielder of Innocence?"

Brown eyes opened in shock, "What?"

The elder laughed softly, "Well, seeing as you are my dear niece's best friend, I thought that you might also like a chance to fight."

"You just don't like Elena being in battle with with a majority of boys do you?" she asked, knowing immediately that she had hit the nail right on the head when comical tears once again began to swell in the older man's eyes.

"B-BUT THEY'RE NOTHING MORE THAN RABBITS IN HEAT! THEY'LL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER THE FIRST MOMENT THAT THEY GET! I KNOW THAT THEY WILL!" He screeched, once again pulling a drill out of the floor-boards only to have it swiftly taken away.

He calmed down quickly after all objects that could be used as weapons were out of his long reach.

"Back to the topic, what do you mean?" Minnie asked trying to keep the gleam of hope out of her eyes. The man ran a hand through his peppered hair, "Well, Reever and I have been working on an equitable Innocence for quite a long time, though well, we really haven't taken any further steps in it."

"Why?" Minnie asked, her curiosity growing, and the man waved his left hand in the air subconsciously, "Well, we didn't wish to create the same mistakes that have happened in the past, so we decided that the Innocence should not be placed within the person but in the item that was to be used as the weapon. That way Reever and I... well mostly I, believe that the weapon then in turn would be able to attach itself to whoever holds it."

Komui continued to ramble to himself, trying to calculate any errors that he could have not foreseen.

"M-Mr. K-Komui..." Minnie half-begged, trying to snap him out of the self-induced trance that he had placed himself into.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"OWW!" Al groaned, as Mrs. Miranda once again placed a new pack of ice on his swollen ankle.

"Quit being such a baby." I chided, and earned a soft glare.

"Who's the one that began wailing right when the anapestic was put on?" he asked coolly, and in turn I stuck my tongue out at him.

"No fair: that stuff stings... Oh!" The adults all turned to glance at me when the sound of surprise and remembrance and after fumbling around in my pocket, I pulled out the green cube.

"Innocence?" Uncle Bookman's was curious and he soon continued, "Where did you obtain that?"

"Yeah, Elena, where the hell-er, heck did you find that?" Al asked, looking down at his feet as his parents glared at him.

I started to scratch the backs of my head in slight worry, "Well ya see what happened was~"

"YOU FOUL FIEND! I KNEW THAT WE COULDN'T LEAVE YOU ALONE WITH MY ELENA!" Whelp, I found Uncle Komui... coming out of a hole where a ceiling fan had been.

"C-Chief! What have I told you about taking apart the house?" Reever barked angrily, his blond hair seeming to get even spikier with his anger.

"But, But Reever, that brat has, that brat has~"

"I DON'T WANT TO EVEN HEAR YOUR PROCLAMATIONS! COME ON, WHERE DID YOU PUT THAT FAN?" The man soon grabbed the other by the collar like one would do with a small child and they both left the room for a minute, before the Asian returned a few minutes later.

"So, what's going on?" He asked, the smile right back on his face, without Reever.

After taking a deep breath I started, "Well, you see while we were looking around in the city, we sorta saw this girl, and we were having ice-cream and she looked like she wanted some, but then she turned out to be a girl named Roade, who had attacked us at the house... Don't worry though, we didn't really fight! She just tried to help and then tried to kill us!"

"But we are both fine exept for minor injuries to me, nothing happened to Elena, don't worry!" Al said, copying my cheerful tone.

"That's not funny." I muttered venomously to him, though he simply shrugged it off, laughing. The adults were now looking at us in absolute worry and fear, "Are you alright? She didn't do anything to you?" Uncle Link asked in shock and concern.

"What do you mean?" I asked, forcing the smile on my face to stay calm as the memory of what she had shown me flashed through my head.

"Roade Camelot of my time had the power to control illusions, dream, memories, what ever she wanted to." He explained, "Bookman Junior, here, knows that first hand."

"Come on now, Two-Point, did you have to tell them that? Not to mention, it's Bookman now." Uncle Bookman bickered, his showing eye glimmering with annoyance.

"This doesn't have anything to do with how the two of them obtained the Innocence that is now in their position." Auntie Kanda muttered darkly.

"Yuu-chan, can't we just fawn over the little kids for once? In my opinion you don't pay near enough attention to your charges!" Cobalt eyes glared angrily at the red-haired man, "Did I ask your opinion on the bringing up of children?"

"Kanda, we don't need to start a fight." Uncle Marie said, and the Japanese man muttered a small 'Che' under his breath before looking at us to continue.

"... Well, ya see, I was in trouble 'cause I didn't kill Roade when I was supposed to in her opinion, so she was about to kill me. That was when dear Alistair came to my rescue. He used some weird-named attack and these huge wave of vines came and started to protect us! Umm, yeah, and then we couldn't be attacked, it was cool! Then this weird man seemed to come out of nowhere and I found this were he was standing." I attempted to explain, though it didn't seem to work because most of the adults were stuck on the word "kill'' and Uncle Komui and gone out at the word ''Dear''.

Only two seemed to have paid attention to the majority of the explanation after the first sentence, "Kanda, don't you think that the Innocence sounded strangely formiliar?" Uncle Marie asked, but all the he was responded with in return was a look of absolute hate and a heated string of Japanese curses.

"Go wash your mouth out with soup, Dad!" Alma's voice called from one of the other rooms.

"Whats the matter, Yuu-chan?" Uncle Lavi asked, though his voice was smug, and he got a glare of death.

"General Tiodell had an Innocence that matched that description, the Maker of Eden." Uncle Marie explained.

"That's the name!" I bounced, and Al looked at me with false cheer, "I could have told you the name, sweet-heart."

"Stop it with the name calling, it's creepy. And I think that Uncle Komui is now hyperventilating." A smirk crossed his lips that could have rivaled the Devil's, "Why do you think I'm do it?"

"DEATH! Komuin XXVI, ATTACK!" Al was soon on the run with a large Komuin on his tail.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"Well, that was entertaining." I chipper-ed, now bandaging my friend's wounded arm.

"Yeah..." Reever, who had finished replacing the fan, sweat-dropped and then went back to inspecting the Innocence that was resting in his hands.

"Well, it's a good thing that we found you first, or was it you found us? No matter." I looked at him with curiously, when he left the room for a moment, going to the stairs and then called, "Hevlaska! Can you come down here?"

There was the soft pattering of feet, then door creaked open. There stood a little girl, no more than six years old. She had long, light blond, almost silver hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a pale lucid green, the same color, I realized, as the glow of Innocence.

"No way." Uncle Lavi muttered shocked, "Way. She came along with us in this form during the attack to conserve energy, unfortunately she doesn't grow." Reever corrected.

"Please do not speak of me as though I am not here." The little girl said softly, and it seemed to surround the room with an airy comfort or calmness. Her voice held too much wisdom for her time.

"This, Elena, is Hevlaska, she was one of the Exorcist of the Black Order before it was broken." Komui stated cheerfully, "If you would like she can take care of the Innocence that you have until it's next invoker is found." She nodded, damn, how could a little kid... never mind.

"How so?" I asked, and to my surprise the cube which had been in Reever's hands began to lumeness, and seemed to float over to the girl. Ever so gently she took it in her hands, holding it close to her heart. Ancient runes began to shine on her arms and other visible skin and then began to spread to the floor in a large circle.

The Innocence turned to a flash and then moved down to the outer rim of the design before stopping at an empty space and creating an 'X'.

"Elena Lee, come here please." Her voice seemed to be almost monotoned though it still held care. After walking up to her, she placed her small hands on each of my temples. Something seemed to prod within my mind for a moment, though in a flash it was gone and the little girl reopened her eyes but they seemed to be dazed.

"Elena Lee, daughter of Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee, your accommodation rate with your Innocence is 84 percent. You will be the one to lead this battle that we are soon to face. You will be the one who is the shining light of this time, just as General Walker was before. Though if you are one to fall, we all shall be those to follow in your footsteps. Live well Crown Clown's Heir." Her eyes unmisted and she gave me a small smile. Though it did nothing to make me feel better.

* * *

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter see you in about three weeks time!

Marine :)

Translations

"_Ce qui vous signifient_?"- What does she mean?~French

"_La Stupida_."- Stupid~Spanish


	11. To Spain!

A big and hearty thanks to _ChikitaWolf _for her favorite! Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

Hiya guys, thank-you for being so patient with this chapter, the vacation was great and I had a ton of fun. I was even able to learn a few things about the world outside my state. *GASP*

Please enjoy. 83

* * *

"NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE!" Uncle Komui cried, and Mom once again attempted to shake him off of her leg.

"Nii-san, we have to find the others!" Lenalee contradicted, only to be responded with shrill crying. It seems as though my dear uncle really didn't want his little sister to leave again.

"Mr. Lee, we all agreed that this place would be our headquarters. We will return… so can you _please_ remove yourself from your little sister's ankle?" Uncle Link asked, both trying to convince and sooth the man who still had the death grip on my mother's appendage.

It didn't work. We had been going at this for about twenty minutes now, and Reever had ended up with a black eye from his Superior's violent temper-tantrum. I think that we were all on our last nerves.

I was sort of glad that Auntie Kanda decided to step in. Taking matters into his hands he activated Mugan and sent a horde of his Hell's Insects at the hysterical Chinese man. My only true uncle was soon running around the perimeter of the garden, with the bugs at his heels.

"Did you need to do that Kanda?" Uncle Marie asked with his tranquil face slightly etched with worry. Was that a content smile on Auntie's lips?

"He deserved it." With that we waved our goodbyes to the two forms on the porch, one of them holding an ice-pack to his face. I smile at the peace that surrounded that house even with the man running away from certain death in the vegetable garden. It kind of made me miss it already.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Aunt Miranda gazed at the map that Reever had given us with a perplexed look on her face. Unfortunately, being a scientist and chemistry major did not tone his drawing skills: "Is that supposed to be a building or a tree?" Chéri asked, her face contorted in confusion as she looked on from behind my godmother's shoulder.

"I truly do not know." She answered, and passed it around in the hopes that someone might be able to decipher its meaning. No one could.

"Where exactly are we going?" Alma asked, his brown eyes glinting with curiosity and joy at thought of another adventure.

"Apparently Timothy Hearst was last seen in… Spain." Alma groaned, and Chéri snickered.

"Can you two at least try to get along?" I chided, though they both shook their heads vigorously, I sighed: it was a hopeless battle with those two.

I then took the time to notice the one person that was drawing back from the conversation. Minnie's voice had not been heard once in the past speaking. There she was, dragging her feet, creating clouds of dust particles around her shoes.

She was hiding something from me. Trust me when I say that. I know all the ways of Minnie-ese. I knew her well enough to know when she was not saying something that she wished to say.

"Hey," I called out, also beginning to drag my feet so that we were soon moving at the same pace.

"Hi," she chirped, looking up at the crystal blue sky, her brown eyes, for once in a long time, glimmering with what seemed to be excited energy.

"What's going on to make you so chipper?" I asked, a smile placing itself on my lips from the positive energy that was radiating off of my friend.

"It's a nice day." She said simply before doing a spin. She was shutting me out and I didn't like that one bit. Timcanpy flew over and began to climb up Minerva's braids as if they were ladders. He then settled down in one of the crevices that the rows made. He was soon bouncing up and down contently.

I proceeded to poke the middle of Minnie's forehead with my left ring finger, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

The smile got wider and she stuck her tongue out, blew a raspberry at me, and then started to run ahead of the group, with me on her tail. Al soon joined us and we all began a very energetic game of Chase-Around-the-Adults.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Lavi had to laugh at the activity that all of the teens seemed to have. Chéri and Alma soon both joined in the games, and the entire crew of kids under twenty was soon wasting energy. They really did remind him of the lot of exorcists that used to be his 'friends'.

When he had been a part of the Order he felt as though he had actually had emotions. He had a heart then. He had laughed with Lenalee as they watched Allen eat all those towers of food that would have probably given a normal person a heart attack. He had occasionally even played chess with Timothy or Johnny. But that was rare.

He could remember having the stamina that all those children had. After all, how many times had he run away from Yuu-chan when the Asian was in a murderous mood?

But that was the past and the past cannot be changed from what it has been written to be. No matter how much they all may wish to change it. He could remember Bookman's words, "_It's all just ink and paper. Don't let yourself be ruled by the things that man calls emotion_."

There were times when he just wished that he had followed that command. Perhaps then he wouldn't have been so hurt when he had seen the Order fall to ruin. If he had listen then maybe he wouldn't have cried when he had found Bookman's battered body unceremoniously littered in the crumbles of the building. Maybe he wouldn't have ripped up the recording of the attack that the old man had worked up to his death on.

But still, he might have done the exact same thing. After all he had never had good control of his emotion. Besides what did it matter now? He wasn't even that 'Lavi' anymore. He was the 51-ist Lavi. He shouldn't have needed the emotion which still boiled in his veins. Though he couldn't rid himself of it. He couldn't halt the bittersweet happiness when he looked down on that little gray-eyed bundle that Lenalee had placed in his arms.

He may, at one time, have hated the general Allen Walker, the one man that took away the one woman that he cared for more than anything. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel happiness for his 'best friend' when he saw that care shining in his eye when he looked down at Lenalee. Trust him when he said that he knew that the words 'friend' or 'family' were_ not_ just ink on paper.

He had known that since she asked him to hold that small, little girl.

Now that little baby had changed into a formidable adult, one so much like her father that it was slightly frightening. He could only smile at the way that the years passed by him. Passed by him like the records that he had worked on so diligently all of those years.

And all that he could do was smile and work his hardest to aid his 'niece' in her seemingly never ending battle against the foe that ruined the 49-th and 50-th 'Lavi's' lives.

Oh how the ways of the Bookman had changed over the years.

Not that he particularly minded.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Finally the two foreign teens stopped running in circles in order to catch their breath.

"Spain… why Spain?" Alma whimpered, shaking his mess of dark brown locks in frustration.

"What? Scared who you are going to meet up with?" Chéri's smirk got only wider at the anger that soon flashed in the boy's brown eyes.

"Not funny."

"_Je m'en fous."_

"Watch your language."

The girl and boy both fell into silence as they both continued to go down the dirt road. Both sets of eyes were set on their general, watching with intent in order to be ready for anything to be thrown at them.

"He seems to have been in a bad mood for a while now." Chéri nodded at the statement.

"_Ouais."_

"I can only wonder if we are once again going to fight against the Noah soon."

"Naturally, we are basically the only thing that is on their minds right now."

"But Elena warned that girl,"

"It doesn't matter; they will simply come after us again and again, like the water of the ocean crashing against the rocky shore. Until they break us in two they will not falter. Besides, I thought that you were hoping to fight Tiki Mikk after what he did to your mother."

"Need you bring that up?" Brown eyes were now fully ablaze, and for once the girl backed down, mumbling a quick apology.

Still the cards in his front pocket seemed almost to be itching for the blood of Akuma. He knew that revenge was not a good reason to fight. He knew that if his 'dad' learned that he battled against the demons only in the hope that he will one day be able to kill the Noah of Pleasure in cold blood… well he didn't want to know what would happen.

His shoulder brushed against the girl beside him and she mirrored the action. A masked form of comfort that they had created. Sure, at times they did not get along, though there were also times that they were the only thing that they could rely on.

They both raced up to join the rest of the group.

~.~.~0~.~.~

The train station was crowded, people rushing to and fro, trying to get to their destinations. It was to the point where we were squished into the very back of second-class cart. The seats were hard seeing as they were made of maple wood. But still it was far better than driving the unforgiving long distance between Paris and Madrid. Still it would take about five days, and about seventeen train switches.

I pulled down Timcanpy from my head and looked at him with false hope, but his radar wasn't working on either Timothy Hearst or any of the others. This made me really depressed and I curled up into a ball on the seat.

Timothy Hearts was apparently the youngest of the Exorcist that Mom and Uncle Link had worked with. Bak Chan was a scientist and also one of the branch chiefs. I hadn't asked about Johnny Gill or Lou Fa, though I silently pleaded that one of them was an exorcist because we really needed the aid that we could get in battle.

There were fourteen Noah and ten of us. Maybe Hevlaska could join in battle or something. That was, if she could fight in a battle. It wasn't like I doubted someone that I knew was older and far wiser than me, but I was really tired of always being on the frontlines.

I was pretty sure that we all were.

Leaning back against one of the people beside me, most likely Al, I closed my eyes hoping for sleep to come and over take me.

Sure, I did sort of miss having to go to school, or even doing house-work. Though if I hadn't been introduced into this world of Innocence and terror I wouldn't have been able to meet all the new people that came before me.

I guess that it was a lose-win situation.

But I couldn't help but keep that small smile on my lips as the train flashed by the beautiful countryside.

~.~.~0~.~.~

The brakes to the train were pulled back ever so slightly as the conductor reached the sixteenth station that day. Rain had begun to pour down with suddenness, and the man was having a hard time seeing only ten feet in front of the machine.

He grumbled to himself about not being paid enough for all the crud that he had to go though, though after ten minutes at the station, he dutifully took off. After all, it was what he was paid so little for. He couldn't deal with being fired either: he had a family of four children and a wife to look after, after all.

Squinting and cursing coarsely to himself he revved up the engine and took off in the rain.

After about twenty or so minutes of driving he spotted what he assumed to be a group of trees ahead. Not taking any notice he continued, until he remembered that there was no forest on this stretch of land. Not to mention that trees didn't bend and form the way that the objects in front of him were.

There were several flashes of what he assumed to be thunder as he called for his assistant. There was a loud 'crash' and pain erupted through his body, then just as quickly disintegrated, just as his body had done; leaving only a pile of ash in the spot that he had been sitting in.

More flashes lit the sky, aiming for the train, each hitting a spot and was soon followed by a chorus of scream of terror and agony.

There was a flash in the last passenger compartment, the glint of steel, the glimmer of magic. The exorcist had arrived.

* * *

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review people, I really don't like it when people don't review for three chapters straight... it makes me sad.

Please message me if there is anything confusing so that I can clear it up. Thanks a lot.

Marine :)

Translations

"_Je m'en fous."-_Like I give a fuck~French

"_Ouais." _Yeah~French


	12. Angels on the Battleground

A big and hearty thanks to _ChikitaWolf _and _Song of the Cursed Child _for their favorites! Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

Yay! I finally finished! It seemed like I would be stuck on this chappie forever. Darn those plot bunnies: they pop up at the worst times! Like in a battle scene. It's really annoying. I hope that this chapter is not rushed. If it is please message me: I will work on it. Any-who, hope that you enjoy the newest chapter!

Please enjoy. 83

* * *

_"CROWN CLOW: DEATH BALL!"_ My voice rang out over the crashes and cries of the battle that surrounded me. The scream that was accompanied with the occasional flash of purple marked another person that was either dead or thankfully got away from the fight.

Most of the people that had been on the train had turned out to be Akuma though the few that were not, were decreasing in numbers very fast.

But I had learned that death was something that could not be halted, it couldn't be restrained. That was one of the lessons that this life that I lived gave me.

As I watched on as the black orbs that came from my sword exploded into the monsters. _They are not monsters: they are unfortunate beings._ Voice's voice melted into my reverie, and I shook my head.

Swinging my blade forward I muttered, "They act like monsters to me: they wish for death."

Need I show you? My eyes involuntarily closed for a moment, only to open to see a world that would torment me. A skeletal like creature hung over the Akumas' shoulders, watching on as the slaughter of the innocent continued. Tears streamed down the beings hollow cheekbones, its mouth placed in a silent scream of agony.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to see anymore that the voice placed in front of me.

_This is your heritage; you will be the one who does not fight simply for the humans that you deem your 'loved ones'. You will be the one who fights for the souls of the Akuma that rise against you. _

I shook my head, "I do not understand: dare I fight for the people that are against us, I will be considered an enemy."

_How do you think that I was treated, eh?_ I finally managed to detect the slight British accent that the voice had, and I realized that the dry humor that it contained in its voice was mixed with slight anger. Anger and pity.

"Who are you again?" I asked, only to be responded with a chuckle, _I am you but at the same time I am not._

"Enough with all the riddles, are you going to tell me or not?" I said, and silence followed.

I took that as a 'No'.

Swinging my body around, I jammed the Sword of Exorcism through an Akuma, not even waiting before slamming it into another. I really didn't get the voices in my head at times.

Gritting my teeth together, I leaped forward; jumping on the head of a Level Three, then with a 'thud' an armored head fell to the ground. The others that surrounded it turned toward me, though they were all too quickly caught up in the music that Al played and soon exploded into oblivion.

He nodded at me, showing that he was fine, and then took note that I was the same. After giving him a small smile I turned to my opponents once again. Throwing my sword back I readied for another _Death Ball._

~.~.~0~.~.~

_"Ōzuchi Kozuchi:Ten Ban: Raitei Kaiten!_" Bolts of thunder scattered across the French background as Lavi's hammer hit the ground. Once again the Bookman found himself back to back to his Asian comrade in arms.

"Oi, Yuu-chan, I got a question for ya." He said, and noted that the man turned his head to glare at him with cobalt eyes.

"What is it now, _baka_?"

"What no_ '**usagi'**_this time? Wow, what's gotten into ya?" The Japanese man in turn, gave the recorder of wars a glare that chilled him to the bones.

"Fine, fine, question time!" _Ōzuchi Kozuchi _swung once again, into an oncoming Akuma which Kanda had missed.

"Why did you take in kids, eh? I mean I would understand if Lenalee, or Miranda did that, cause they're so nice and all; or even me, but not so much with you. I never pictured you to be the whole 'caring' type… WAIT DON'T TELL ME! DON'T TELL ME THAT THEY'RE _YOUR_ KIDS! OH THE HORROR! LENALEE," The object of attention was far away, whipping through the air, "WE GOT ANOTHER CROSS ON OUR HA~"

Mugan stopped short, a scarce centimeter away from Lavi's Adam's apple. A dark aura was now surrounding the Asian.

"He he, ya know, instead of pointing a life-threatening weapon that close to my neck, wouldn't ya just explain this like a proper gentlemen?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Usagi, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE!" To emphasize his point Kanda sliced another Level Three out of the air.

"Fine, fine, but you better explain it to me later Yuu-chan."

The Asian turned back to the fight that he was up against, but as he passed the red-head a word rushed past the Bookman's ears, "Similarities."

~.~.~0~.~.~

Alma raced forward into the fray, his brown eyes glinted the color of dried blood when the sun struck him. Cheri was a short distance behind him, yelling commands at the spears that encircled around her.

The Ace of Spades card rested in his hand with ease as he sliced it through another demon that neared him. He knew that his 'Dad' had told Cheri to stay close to him and not allow him to do anything that would be considered 'drastic'. That was what Cheri and his leader did whenever one of them reached their homelands.

Neither of them were sure why, and they had never asked. With the Asian man it was better at times just to agree and not ask any questions.

Childish laughter erupted behind him and he barely had the time to duck and call out in warning to the others, "LEVEL FOUR!" before he was blown backward by an attack.

He took note that the French girl had placed herself in front of him, taking the main blow as well as the Akuma virus. Though that was true, her Parasitic Innocence eradicated the disease just as quickly as it entered her bloodstream.

"You idiot!" he yelled and they both tumbled out of the way of another round of gunfire.

She gave off a laugh, and touched the ground, causing spikes to jolt up from the blood that had dropped and then pooled onto the ground. Though they missed their main target, a few Level Threes were soon skewered and the pools soon began to move with a mind of their own. Creating tentacles they latched onto oncoming Akuma and leeched their way inside of the chinks in the enemies' armor, boiling down the skin of the demons down to the very bones.

"I hate it when you do that." He shivered; though she simply gave him a smile that he knew was all too sweet from her attitude.

"Why is that?" She asked, smile still all too innocent and naïve. She jump up, swinging a spear over her head before tossing it like a javelin into a Level Two that was getting too close to Madame Miranda for her own comfort.

"Because," He dodged an Akuma, soon slicing it in half with the King of Spades, "Every time that you do that I can only think that you are going to try to kill me that way one day."

There was silence then, though the girl's smile only widened. But then a familiar voice was raised to a scream as the duo jerked around to watch in horror as the Level Four lost interest in them and was now aiming for their youngest friend.

"Elena!" They both called, rushing to her defense, though they both knew that they would not be able to reach her in time to ward off the bullets.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Al looked up at the sound of a terrified scream, his tune halting in mid air causing the force field that surrounded him to shatter.

He didn't care. The only thing that did matter at that moment was the fact that the Akumas were surrounding Elena in a large horde. Far too many for her to fight off at once.

His stomach then dropped in terror as he spotted the Level Four that was rushing toward his best friend.

"NO!"

Right as he began to move forward in the hope to aid her, a light came upon his eyes and blinded him.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I closed my eyes, and for a moment was too afraid that if I opened them again I would be in heaven. Though, when I forced myself to reveal myself to the world, I found myself gazing upon a very strange angel indeed.

Dark hair flooded a brown-skinned face, while chocolate eyes gleamed out like furious beacons.

A glowing shield-like object rested in the girl's hands and with a heave backward, the disk was sent spiraling through the air, muck like the Frisbee that Mom had gotten Al and Minnie for Christmas.

The disk cut through the Akumas as if they were made from paper, though the higher the Levels the harder it seemed to cut through them. It was finally lodged in the stomach of the Level Four.

"Go!" I heeded the command with gratitude, rushing toward the Akuma.

All that it did was simply thrash around, screaming obstinacies at the Exorcists and the Innocence combined. The cut of the Innocence across its body seemed to have drawn it into an insane state.

I watched as the adults all still fought their own battles, and then motioned with my hands to my friends to continue on with their and that I was fine. I glanced back, briefly, in order to make sure that they were doing just that, which they hesitantly were.

Charging foreword, I slashed my sword arm down, raking it along the Level Four's arm, causing it to cry out in fury and agony.

Drawing my sword backward, and after a long sweep of my arm, successfully managed to chop its head off. That was the only way to truly annulated one of the higher up demons. I learned this via Auntie Kanda, during one of our many very painful training sessions.

Taking a deep breath, I looked back at the now dubbed 'angel'. Giving her a glance over, I said, "Minnie?" The girl's face paled as she plucked her weapon out of midflight. It soon shrunk to the size of a small medallion and she reattached it to a chain that hung around her neck.

"I though that~"

"Mr. Komui had an idea, and I did not want to be the odd one out anymore so I agreed to try it out." Her voice was quiet but despite it being soft it had a defiant tone. One that I really glad to hear back in my friend's voice.

Smiling, I held out a hand to her, and she looked up, surprise evident on her face.

"I'm pretty sure that you are going to get enough of an earful from your parents and brother, so I'll not reprimand you," I pulled her to face the oncoming wave of Akuma, the grin still on my lips, "But right now we need all the help that is available to us."

Finally the smile was returned and there was an audible snap as she readied to throw the Innocence once again.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"You did _what_?" Alma walked out of the room with a sigh, following Cheri to the outside hallway of the inn that the group was forced to stay in that night because the train didn't arrive until the next morning.

Minerva was getting quite the earful from her family, though some of the others in their 'family' were secretly hiding their joy of having another fighter in their crew. After all, they all knew that they needed it.

Cheri watched him out of the corner of her eye as he looked out the window. She finally looked like a girl with her hair down and her form covered by a cotton-nightgown. Though her eyes were still that of a warrior: hard and controlling navy orbs.

"You can't redo the past." She read his face with so much ease.

"I'm going to be the one to kill him." There was a shuffle which he communicated to be a shrug.

"He's a Noah; one of us will be the one to end his life, whether it is you, Elena, the General, or me."

He spun to see her, his eyes blazing with what she knew to be the lust for blood, "I will show him the pain that he forced upon my mother."

"Suit yourself, but don't ever forget who the person was that gave you the cards that turned into your weapon."

_Don't forget where you are now. Home. _

* * *

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review people, I really don't like it when people don't review for four chapters straight... it makes me sad.

On a random note what is the plural form of Akuma?

Please message me if there is anything confusing so that I can clear it up. Thanks a lot.

Marine :)

Translations

"_Je m'en fous."-_Like I give a fuck~French

"_Ouais." _Yeah~French


	13. In the Dead of Night

First of all, I would like to give the biggest virtual hug to PamyAtrophy whose wonderful and lengthy review made my day. Honestly, I was thinking of discontinuing because I thought that people weren't intrested anymore. Miss Atrophy has restored my faith in everyone. I would also like to thank_ Naarano _and_ Johanne Asherie._

X3 Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

I would like to see a raise of hands for everyone who hates writer's block. *Raises hand* I would also like to thank my dear friend Sammy and Ryan, the first for reviewing my work to make sure that I had no run-on sentances, and the latter for giving me the insperation of my character Al. I love you guys a whole bunch!

I will start making character profiles again at the bottom of the story again, this time with physical aspects(This idea comes from PamyAtrophy, so lets give her a round of applause). Ta-ta for now. ;)

Please enjoy. 83

* * *

"Hey Yuu-chan, don't pretend that you don't hear me, I know that you do." The Japanese man gave a low growl, before dropping the book which he had been trying to read in order to brush back up on his Spanish.

The moment that Kanda opened the door, he was bombarded by the annoying Energizer Bunny.

"Fuck! _Ugasi_, get the hell off me!" The red head complied, and bounced off his counterpart to land with perfect aim on the sofa, which the other male had been sitting on.

"Nee, Yuu-chan, ya need to control your temper: it really isn't in the least bit attractive. No wonder you haven't settled down with a woman somewhere and had little Yuu-lets! You would probably kill them all!" Lavi laughed, though the man beside him did not find that all-so-wonderful humor in his words, and the Bookman soon once again, found an impeccably sharp blade resting against his navel.

"_Baka_, I will only say this once, so listen to me carefully: why are you bothering me now?" Lavi, for once in his not-so-nice life, dropped the happy face, leaving a serious and stern gaze that he had obtained through years of training with the former Bookman.

"Fine, fine," There was a soft chuckle, though it was nothing like the vibrant peels of laughter that always seemed to be coming forth from the fifty-first persona, "I came to ask you about what I was talking to you with on the battlefield."

Black eyes glinted like steel in the light that was coming only from a small lamp on the center table.

"I already told you."

"One little word will not be able to quench my large Bookman curiosity, Kanda." For some disgusting reason the ring of his name going past Lavi's lips sounded off putting and strange.

The Asian gave a low sigh, and then ran a hand through the long ponytail, which he was thankful that he hadn't taken it down.

He glared at the redhead, though upon noticing that the man was getting comfortable on _his_ sofa, he realized that it was damn close to impossible to make the other leave him to his peace.

"Why are you bothering me with this?" he asked, knowing that it was a weak excuse to cover the fact that he did indeed have a weakness, but he tried it anyway.

"I am a recorder of history: I have to write down all that I can learn. It's my job." Lavi's smile widened just a bit, as if to show the other that he wasn't going to leave until he obtained all that he wanted to know.

"I told you that it was similarities."

"Similarities to _what? _Their and your upbringings, your lives, what is exactly similar?_"_

"What he is and what I am." Lavi could only assume that he meant Alma.

"Half Akuma?" Lavi's visible green eye widened, obviously confused, as he watched the Asian man roll his eyes. His hand was still running through his hair, the way that it did when he was hiding the fact that he was nervous or cornered.

"That is one way to put it."

"Where is your usual bluntness?"

Black eyes closed, and the hand halted only to settle back in its owner's lap. "He's half Noah." The pen that Lavi had been fiddling with clattered to the floor.

~.~.~0~.~.~

I awoke in the night to a shuffling to my left side. Opening my eyes so that they were slits, I looked at the back of Chéri as she looked down to check that she had not woken anyone up and then exited the room in a rushed motion.

Confused, I too, left the cot, on which, I had been sleeping and tip-toed over to the doorway, where a tiny trickle of light poured through the crack that the slab of wood made.

Hushed voices came to my ears as I rubbed sleep away from my eyes.

"What in the world is so important that you wake me up at this hour?" Chéri's tone was angry though it held a minute trace of fear that I could not determine the reason for.

"It happened again." The voice, Alma's voice, said.  
It sounded so foreign: so flat and broken.

"_Merde_… who did you attack?" What was going on?

"N-No one, it wasn't as bad this time."

"I'll go and get the General."

"NO!" I watched as they both flinched as his exclamation bounced off the walls in the form of an echo.

"They've been getting worse and more frequent, you idiot! Don't you see that you might one day kill someone?" The fear was edging more and more into the girl's voice.

"You know what you will do if that happens." Alma's voice, if possible grew even colder.

"Yeah…" There was a movement of shadows as Chéri's hand brushed across the left side of the boy's chest over where his heart might be.

"They haven't turned back yet, have they?" Alma asked, and in response the French exorcist lifted his chin with two fingers.

I tilted my head in, just enough to see what she was looking at. Golden irises flickered in the dim light of the lamp that had been placed by the boy on to the floor. Graying tones covered the normally tan skin.

I jerked back into the room, careful not to make any noise not wanting to believe what I had witnessed. This had to be a nightmare.

~.~.~0~.~.~

"What do you mean, Yuu-chan?" The nickname was back, as the Bookman hastily gathered his personal belongings from the floor.

"His mother was a woman by the name of Maria Soto; she owned a grocery-shop in downtown Madrid. His father was Tiki Mikk, Noah of Pleasure."

"You have got to be kidding me, Yuu! You have taken a NOAH in as your son! What about Chéri?" The glare the Lavi obtained was colder than ice.

He understood why: with Kanda being a part of the second Exorcist and all. But he would never have thought that it would be Kanda Yuu to be the one to find it in his heart to take in a person who could very well have killed them all in their sleep.

"Where is his mother in all this?" Lavi attempted to control the pit of confusion that was now turning in his brain.

"Dead: killed by the Noah." Lavi's mind halted for a moment, shock mostly, but also because of the fact that his mind finally connected to the fact that Kanda really did care.

Even though it was a quiet and well-covered type of caring: it was indeed there.

"Eh… well then, what about Ch ~" He was cut off when the door slammed open, and in burst Chéri.

The girl was clearly terrified: her hair was a mess, far from its normal neat state.

"General! It's Alma: he's having another attack!" Kanda shifted into a standing position and stalked out of the room after the girl. Lavi followed.

The boy was standing, his left hand spread across his eyes with a white-knuckled grip. His breathing came out in rushed pants and his body was shaking in an invisible wind. I rushed out of the room, in fear for him.

"Alma, Alma… what is it? What is going on?" I reached out to touch his shoulder, though the moment that my fingers brushed against his shoulder; I was filled with a sickening feeling.

"G-Get away." His voice was strained, "If I go black I will try to kill you."

"Black?" I was desperately confused.

_He harbors the Noah gene, just as Allen Walker did: until the two sides of him reach a balance he will most likely be very unstable and switch personalities_. The Voice rang in my head and I shook it, trying to clear my thoughts.

"What can I do to make it stop?" I mumbled to myself, as I felt the energy surrounding me beginning to condense. _Nothing… unless you wish to cause him a great amount of pain_. Was the simple reply.

I heard feet padding down the hallway, and a voice call out in panic, "Elena! Get away from him!" Uncle Bookman?

"What would that be?" I cried, desperate, as I watched Alma's skin begin to turn a darker gray.

I hadn't realized that the Sword of Exorcism had come to fit in my left fist. I hadn't noticed that I swung it back, until it had come swinging down in a wide arch.

"What?" I reacted at the last second causing it to land on the wooden floor. I was soon dragged back by a furious looking Mr. Kanda, though his attention was soon directed at the boy in front of me.

A dark shadow seemed to be looming over the Spanish teen before condensing into the shadow of a smiling figure, the mouth grinning at us with grotesque glee.

Golden eyes gleamed at us with laughter sparking in them.

"Well, well, it's the pretty boy, 'che-ing' Asian and the redhead brat of a Bookman. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I didn't remember that voice, though it brought around a sense of déjà vu.

Chéri's spears circled around her, and _Mugan_ was already unsheathed.

Whoever-It-Was-In-Alma's-Body ran a hand through his (Alma's) hair, and looked down at me. His smile, if possible, widened.

"So you are the Boy's brat? You remember me don't you? I was there with Roade when we attacked you house. Speaking of Roade, you got her pretty mad the other day."

"Like I give a damn." I growled, and was responded with a laugh.

Light eyes turned to Auntie Kanda, "You've done a pretty good job training this boy: I couldn't even invade his thoughts during the invasion on the Brat's house."

I had no idea that someone could be so chatty when they have a whole line of weapons pointed at them.

There was a flash of purple, and I just managed to block. Grey eyes met dark yellow. "Where is he?" My eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Might I ask who exactly you are looking for?" I asked pushing against his arm-blades.

"You know who."

I chose to ignore the commotion around me, and smiled at him, "I hope that you know that this means war." His eyes looked curious for a moment.

"Perhaps Miss Roade did not tell you, but I stated that dare you come near the people that I call my family with the intent to harm them, I will make it my mission to hunt you down till every last one of you is ten feet under. Tell your 'Millennium Earl' that, please. And unless you wish to feel this sword cut through your gut."

I felt the pressure against my blade slacken, but then push straight back. Metallic eyes being dulling to brown only to gain control a moment later.

Anger switched to furious desperation to defend.

Then simply brown, as they look at me with dazed agony before Alma all together collapsed.

Note to self: never attempt to stop a person from falling when they weigh at least twenty pounds more than you.

I stumbled back, before moving so that my friend was leaning against a wall. Right then I was hit over the head with a sheathed _Mugan_.

"Ow!" I cried, glaring up at Auntie Kanda, right before he repeated the action, this time on my neck.

"_Chibi Moyashi_! What the hell did you think that you were doing? He could have killed you!" Auntie wacked me over the head once again for good measure just to make sure that I understood his point.

"You're the same as your father: Always placing yourself in danger to save people and not giving a crap about yourself! If you want to die so badly then I will do it myself!"

"Nee, Yuu-chan, Lenalee would be mad if she heard you saying this." Lavi said weakly, only to find an unsheathed sword pointed at him.

"Shut up _Baka_, or I will skin you and make you into a kabob."

"WAHH! Yuu-chan is so mean to me! Why didn't you point your sword at Elli-chan?"

"Because even though she is dumb and thick headed, she is a woman,_ Baka_."

"Is that a form of sexism I hear Yuu-poo?"

"Shut your mouth, _Ugasi_!"

I looked over away from the bickering duo, to where Cheri was walking over to.

Reaching out she brushed aside Alma's bangs, and seemed relieved not to see the crosses that appeared on the Noah's forehead.

I too, trudged over, and gazed down with her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, not even looking up.

"That depends, is he?" Navy eyes flipped up to gaze at me with what looked to be defeat.

"Perhaps," she said.

"Are _you _alright?" Almost instantly she opened her mouth to say 'yes', though now she halted herself.

She shook her head side to side.

"You should get back to sleep." She said, leaving me in the dark hallway, with an unconscious Alma and two bickering adults.

I had no choice but to follow her.

We walked to the outside, which was not toward our rooms. I was soon hit by a wave of fresh air, and gratefully breathed the sweet air into my lungs.

I followed Chéri's gaze up into the sky to find my gaze littered with stars and in one corner, the moon.

"Tell me that you hate him." Indigo eyes turned to me with curiosity, though she knew what I had said.

"He wants me to."

"Why?"

"I was the first one to find out that he was a Noah's son, besides the General that is. It was right after I first met him, and he turned black and attacked me. He almost became unreachable. It terrorized me. The moment that he changed back, I ran and refused to communicate with him for eight days. He grew to think that I hated him. It was almost two years later when he had the second attack. After that one, he asked me to do something."

Her gaze was lost in the stars once again as she trailed a finger against a vine that ran against the pathway.

"What did he ask?"

Navy orbs glanced up at me and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, her dress was getting caught on the ground and was hemmed with mud, her bare feet, I noticed were cut and dirty.

Her face looked as tired as she gave me a small smile, as though trying to show me that she still had a light of hope in those blank eyes of hers.

"He told me that if he ever transformed into a Noah," She once again looked up.

"I would be the one to kill him." My eyes widened.

She continued, "I used to be able to realize the symptoms that an attack was going to happen: anger, haziness, confusion. Though now… I find myself trying to give reason for those same emotions to be there. I'm trying to find reasons for it not to be his Noah genes taking over." She fell against the brick wall that surrounded the courtyard with a sigh.

"I'm torn in half again."

I started to walk away, deeming that she needed to be left alone for a time. Then something hit me.

"I have a question."

She looked up, "What?"

"Why did Mr. Kanda take you under his wing again?"

That smile was back, and I wondered if that was what I looked like at times: a split individual.

"Alma asked him to."

* * *

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review people, I really don't like it when people don't review for four chapters straight... it makes me sad.

On a random note what is the plural form of Akuma?

Please message me if there is anything confusing so that I can clear it up. Thanks a lot.

Marine :)

Character Charts: Elena

Hair Color: It is brownish gold color that comes down to her shoulders. (Like Allen's when he was young)

Eye Color: Gray

Looks: She is of medium build, slightly short, though muscular. She has a round face and her hair falls down to her shoulders. Her bangs, at times, will cover her eyes. She is tan-ish from the time that she spends outside and her hair is getting lighter and has better highlights now than it did before in the beginning.

Clothes: Elena, as of now, is wearing a navy colored skirt with red trim that comes down to her knees, a red cotton jacket, and a black t-shirt. She has also taken the habit of wearing gloves so that she can wield her weapon with more ease. She will at times put her hair into a loose bun in battle.

Translations

"_Je m'en fous."-_Like I give a fuck~French

"_Ouais." _Yeah~French


	14. Timothy

First of all, I would like to give the biggest virtual hug to PamyAtrophy whose wonderful and lengthy review made my day. Honestly, I was thinking of discontinuing because I thought that people weren't interested anymore. Miss Atrophy has restored my faith in everyone. I would also like to thank_ the sugar-crazed alchemist._

Second, I hate school, and with all honors and AP classes I am probably going to go a little insane. _Just a bit_. Hopefully though, I will be able to keep up with the updates. Thanks for all of the support.

X3 Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

I would like to see a raise of hands for everyone who hates writer's block. *Raises hand* I would also like to thank my dear friend Sammy and Ryan, the first for reviewing my work to make sure that I had no run-on sentences, and the latter for giving me the inspiration of my character Al. I love you guys a whole bunch!

I will start making character profiles again at the bottom of the story again, this time with physical aspects(This idea comes from PamyAtrophy, so lets give her a round of applause). Ta-ta for now. ;)

Please enjoy. 83

* * *

The sun rose earlier than any of the group had wished for it to, and ever so slowly each member of the crew dragged themselves out of bed and got dressed.

I looked at Minnie, who had only woken up three minutes ago, and gave her a smile, which she returned. She hadn't woken up at all last night, even with all the racket. In fact, I was half-heartily trying to convince myself that all the events that had taken place in the night air were fleeting dreams.

But then I turned to see Alma and Chéri walk in.

With one look at their faces I stopped trying to force myself to believe such folly.

Chéri's eyes were tired and gloomy, she looked as though she could use about three or so hours more of sleep. Alma just looked like Hell-warmed-over. His hair didn't have its normal bounce and it seemed as though he had pulled an all-nighter.

Al noticed my stare, and walked over to the two of them, "What happend to you two? Eh? You look as though you slept on~"

"Cut the chit-chat until I've had my second or third cup of tea." Chéri growled and we all remembered that she was _not _a morning person. She was _really_ not a morning person.

Immediately, she walked into the kitchen area and hunted around for the tea which she had bought from Paris.

"Hey Alma, you want some?" She looked up to find that all of our eyes were staring at her with shock.

"What?" She grumbled.

"You are going to _share_ something with _him_?" Minnie asked, her coal eyebrows arched toward her hair-line.

There was a low mummer from the back of the French teen's throat, as if she was trying to come up with a come back, but couldn't.

"Yes. I would thank you." Alma said, from where he had perched himself on the counter and supposedly fallen asleep. We jumped at his responce as the kettle began to boil.

"D-did I miss something?" Al asked.

"Probably." I said, and he turned to me with a smile.

"Well, how did everyone sleep?" Mom asked, and there was a low chorus of "Fine"s and "Good"s.

Auntie Kanda said nothing, and I noticed that there were dark purple rings around his eyes. Tell you the truth, I felt really bad for him at the moment.

He caught my glace with a glare and his lips up turned into a small snarl. Okay, scratch that last sentence. I would never feel sorry for that bastard.

But I could really only give him a small smile. It was meant to be reassuring, directed to him when the French girl handed Alma a steaming the steaming cup.

~.~.~0~.~.~

The moment that we got off the train and entered the city of Madrid, we began to sweat. Well at least all of us that were from Britain were. It was not only hot, but humid.

Meanwhile, Auntie Kanda, Alma, and Chéri all look at us with concerned eyes.

"_Señora, donde es una ropería_?" I watched as Alma walked up to a young woman who was selling flowers. The girl thought for a moment and then talked in fast Spanish; she pointed down the road, at which Alma smile and thanked her.

"She said that there is a shop that we can buy clothes about three blocks down due west." He explained to us, and for once not even Al complained about the whole idea on shopping.

~.~.~0~.~.~

Al looked around at his friends with tired eyes. Alma and Chéri were arguing like normal (Thank god). Minnie and Elena were looking at the jewelry at the front of the store(Even though they had no more spending money). Miss Lenalee and his mother were chatting to one of the cashiers in order to get some discounts on the clothing that thier children wanted to get. Mr. Link was with them and had one of those looks on his face that he had whenever he was forced to spend a large amout of money. Mr. Lavi was annoying Mr. Kanda while his father tried to calm down the Asian so that he wouldn't kill the red-head.

Yep, just another day.

His stomach growled... he was hungry.

Thankfully, he still had his money.

"Mum! I'm going to go and find a place to get some food!" Miranda looked over at him and gave a small nod, though there was a hesitation in her eyes. He gave her a smile, which she hastily returned.

"Stay close and be back within fifteen minutes so that I won't worry!" She called after him, and he nodded. She didn't see the grin that was fighting its way on to his lips. She worried even when Minerva and he were by her side.

Out in the street, he gave a sigh of content as the warm air wrapped around him. Then opening his eyes he searched around for a restaurant or a food-stand. there was nothing, only a bar, from which the sounds of a fight were being admitted.

With a sigh he turned to the left

His head jerked around at the sound of a scruffle and watched as two men were thrown out of a bar with a string of curses rushing from their mouths.

Al raised one eyebrow as one of the men grumbled to himself in Spanish while the other brushed himself off and readied to leave. Though right at that moment, the first man grinned and jumped into the air.

Al knew that screech of the words, "EXROCIST!"

Heaven's Tune was out of it's case and already playing before it landed.

The second man turned to look at the boy and his brown eyes, while still hazed from alcohol, locked on to the glowing instrument that was placed in the boy's hands.

"I-Innocence?" He asked, looking as though he was in a dream state.

The akuma, too, glanced at the boy before screaming when the melody wrapped around it.

The akuma covered its ears, howling in pain and the music wrapped around it. Then, it simply exploded.

Bits of rubble began to fall from the sky, as Al covered his eyes in order to avoid the heat that rushed toward his face. He then went to look down at the man.

He wasn't as old as Al had first believed, he was perhaps in his late twenties. His mouse brown hair was combed back and out of his eyes. His skin was fair, though it had multiple small scars, as if the man had been in a great many battles.

"Who are you?" The man asked, his eyes large and confused, "Why do you have Innocence?"

Al reached down, pulling the other to his feet, "My name is Alistair Marie, I am an Exorcist of the now defeated Black Order. Who, might I ask, are you?"

The man did not answer, though his face broke into a wide grin and looked down at the ground, though Al noted that his shoulders were shaking with what was either laughter or tears.

"You look just like someone that I used to know, only you are a guy." Al smiled, though he felt slight annoyance, "Is that so?"

"Yes."

Al tried to keep his voice steady so that he could sound calm, "How is it that you know about the Innocence?"

The man ran a hand through his hair, opened his mouth, and then stopped looking at the sky.

"Shit! Move!" Both of the men quickly rolled out of the way of oncoming Akuma fire.

"Kid! Are you alright?" Al gave a low groan, seeing as he had hit it head on the pavement, and nodded. He readied his violin, only to be blown

back when another round of Akuma fire rained down upon the two. Heaven's Tune was ripped from his hands and he could only wince when he heard it land away from him with a slightly- sickening 'crack'.

Al closed his eyes momentarily, and while he heard the other male's voice trying to revive him, he could not bring himself to reopen his eyelids.

He really did not want to look and see that the instrument which he had owned for over ten years laying in a broken mess of maple wood and strings.

He felt the vibrations of the bullets hitting around him.

Alistair could only wonder if his family and Elena could have heard the commotion and come outside. He- What the hell was he thinking? He was in the middle of a battle for Christ's sake!

He forced his eyes open.

"What. The. Hell?"

There, before him, was what looked to be an Akuma, though its skin glimmered in different florescent colors of green. _Much like the Innocence_.

It turned to look at him with lipid eyes, and he steeled himself inwardly to face a painful death. Instead what happened was very much unexpected.

"Like, watch over my damn body!" the shrill voice bumped against his ears unpleasantly, and Al was soon hit with a dead weight.

"What?" the teen asked, clutching his now spinning head.

He pushed the form off of him, revealing the person to be the man that he had been talking to only minutes ago. Then only difference was the fact that the elder was unconscious and had a strange symbol on his forehead.

He then turned back to the 'Akuma' which had taken off into the sky and was fighting.

Then suddenly the once-still body rushed to life with an angered screech of, "Won't'cha try ta listen ta me for once already?"

He then took the time to begin to bounce around, looking like an idiot, yelling at the top of his lungs at the sky.

"Are you insane?" Al jerked up, grabbing the man around the collar, and forcing him down before he was hit.

The Akuma were beginning to thin out, and Al heard the sounds of close fighting in his foggy reverie.

"No M' not! Ya gotta watch over my Master though, the block-head never listens to me when he goes into battle! He's gonna get himself killed!" Al noted the accent change, and then turned to look at where Heaven's Tune lay broken on the ground.

"Goddamn it." he muttered, rushing over to where it was, and and soon began bundling the pieces of wood in his jacket.

He looked up to see the Akuma retreating and his 'family' rushing foreword as the 'Akuma' landed before him.

"You okay?" He, she, _it_ asked, sounding quite worried.

"AL!" He was soon tackled by an over-exuberant Elena. It made his head spin.

"Who's this, your girlfriend?"

"MASTER! BEHAVE YOURSELF!" The group turned to see the man and the 'Akuma' bickering once again. Said 'Akuma' was soon surrounded by weapons.

"WAHH! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?" The beast cried.

"It's 'cause ya never listen!" The man responded, and the crew looked at each other, then back at the duo.

Then something seemed to click in Mrs. Lenalee's eyes.

"T-T-Timothy? Is that you?" The man looked up upon hearing his name. Then his eyes widened.

"MISS LENALEE!"

Al's only response was to bury his head in his hands and attempt to conceal the groan that ripped across his lips.

Why were his parent's friends _so _messed up?

* * *

Oh, Timothy, I love you.

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review people, I hope that I will get some more reviews and I won't have to go on for chapters on end with out any feedback. 8)

Please message me if there is anything confusing so that I can clear it up. Thanks a lot.

Marine :)

Character Charts: Chéri

Hair Color: She has deep brown hair that had has red highlights in the summer.

Eye Color: Blue/Navy

Looks: She is tall, and skinny. She doesn't really have any curves. She has a heart-shaped face, with a small nose and large eyes. She has broad shoulders because of her fighting with her melee-styled Innocence. She normally has a hard-set mouth but will smile on occasion.

Clothes: Cheri is partial to wearing long-sleeve shirts or jackets so that she will not feel self-conscious about her Innocence in its normal form. She also would not be caught dead wearing a skirt or dress.(To the point where she will wear male pants) She often puts her hair in a ponytail or plaits it so that it is not in her way during a battle. She has a necklace of the Black Order Cross that she keeps in her pocket. Like Elena, she is wearing the colors red and black at the moment.

Translations:

"_Je m'en fous."-_Like I give a fuck~French

"_Ouais." _Yeah~French


	15. Tale of the Survivors

First of all, I would like to give the biggest virtual hug to crazycomedian, for their review and favorite. It made my day. It really did. Thanks a bunch.

I would also like to thank InvisibleBrunette and Nightmare Dweller for thier favorite and story alerts.

Second, I hate school, and with all honors and AP classes I am probably going to go a little insane. _Just a bit_. Hopefully though, I will be able to keep up with the updates. Thanks for all of the support.

X3 Please review guys, I like knowing how my dear readers think that I am progressing.

I would like to see a raise of hands for everyone who hates writer's block. *Raises hand* I would also like to thank my dear friend Sammy and Ryan, the first for reviewing my work to make sure that I had no run-on sentences, and the latter for giving me the inspiration of my character Al. I love you guys a whole bunch!

I will start making character profiles again at the bottom of the story again, this time with physical aspects(This idea comes from PamyAtrophy, so lets give her a round of applause). Ta-ta for now. ;)

Please enjoy. 83

* * *

"Chief? Chief… CHIEF, WAKE UP!" Komui's eyes flickered open from where his face had settled in the mist of half-finished plans and schemes that the Chinese man had created.

Reever had to admit that the man was a bloody genius, though there were times when he simply got sick of the said 'genius'. Giving up, he walked over to the window, looking out upon the dark streets as rain pattered against the panes.

He ran a hand through his hair and released a silent heave of defeat; he took out a cigarette from the case in his front pocket. He had started the revolting habit back up again after the Black Order had fallen.

Komui didn't like him smoking in the house, and in a recessive of his brain he hoped that the smoke would wake the dazing man from that goddamn comatose that Komui had himself in.

Who was he kidding?

With a snarl of disgust he tossed the unlit stick into the trashcan, and walked out into the pouring rain.

Closing his eyes he felt the droplets hit his skin in an uneven rhythm. Memories flooded his head. It always happened on nights like this one.

~.~.~0~.~.~

_"Chief!" he called as another round of bullets shot through yet another row of Finders. Tiedoll was fighting to his left, trying cover all the wounded that he could with Garden of Eden, though nothing that the old general did seemed even remotely staunch the loss of live that surrounded the ruins that used to be the Science Department. _

_The inhuman screeches of Lau Shimin had long since died out. Though that thought had yet to enter the scientist's mind as he scrambled off to search for his supervisor… his best friend... goddamn it._

_Debris flew everywhere as Reever trudged through stacks of paper, using them as shields as he continued on his trek. _

_"Komui!" That was not desperation ringing in his voice… was it? Hell. _

_He tackled both Lo Fau and Rikei who seemed to both be choking back sobs. Oh… he looked at the pile of ash that had once been the boy Shifu. Poor kid. They didn't have time to mourn, not now at least. Mourning for the lost now would only get them all killed. Light of the Akuma bullets surged above them as the trio crawled toward the exit. Thankfully all the Noah seemed too busy to take notice. _

_The three took off down one of the sewer lines, traveling in the near dark toward what they presume to be an exit, only to run into a dead end._

_Reever cursed and fumbled around in the blackness for a door handle. Locked. No. _

_"No." _

_Next to him Lo Fau was trembling and he knew that she was probably going into post-traumatic shock. He couldn't blame her._

_Suddenly the door burst open, and the trio was collided with two others. Black straight hair was blended with curly brown and thick glasses. _

_"R-Reever? Is that you?" Reever looked up at the dimly lit shadow taking note of the fact that he didn't see of feel glasses that never left their master's face. _

_"Chief. Come on, we have to get out of here." He turned to the teen that was beside the supervisor, "Johnny? Are you alright?"_

_A thick voice answered, "Cash is dead." Reever wanted a chance to feel sorry for the girl that he had only known for such a short time. But if he took the time to mourn he knew that he would break in two. _

_"Come on. I know a way out." Rikei said. _

_His voice choppy was as he tried to express his thoughts in the English tongue. _

_He led them into the dark once again._

_They ran down hallways that Reever never knew had existed. They created a complex network that led to the channel. _

_The group was soon exposed to the night air, though the fighting was still going on strong: the Exorcists were still fighting. They hadn't lost yet. They couldn't have. Please. _

_Reever only looked back when he had followed the few survivors that he had found into the dark woods. _

_What he found would be burned into his mind for as long as he lived. _

_The black sky poured buckets though that did nothing to quench the fires that had started in the tower. If he hadn't lost hope then, all of it had fled him when he saw the Millennium Earl soaring through the sky, his voice raised in lurid glee. A figure was clenched by the neck in his right hand. Silver hair was bloodied and white cape was in tatters. That youth-filled boy that he had once been so fast of friends with was limp and unmoving as the thousand year duke flew higher. _

_"Allen…" His voice was scarcely above a whisper even though he felt like screaming until his throat when raw. _

_No. No. No. No… no, no, no, just__ no. This__ wasn't__happening. This couldn't be happening. They were all dead. Oh god. Lenalee, Lavi, Marie, Kanda, Chaoji, the generals. Everyone was gone. As the Black Order survivors scattered for the cover of the woods, the blond man fell to his knees and let out a piercing wail that was only to be covered with a clap of thunder. _

~.~.~0~.~.~

Blue eyes opened to look up at looming clouds and the tall man turned at the sound of footsteps coming toward him. Those steps were accompanied by a loud yawn and rolling his eyes he said, "Good morning, Chief."

The Chinese man looked at him through his glasses with bleary eyes.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the pouring rain?" The sleepy question skipped blankly over the fact that Reever had once again called him by his once-title. At first he hadn't liked it, seeing as it forced him to look back into the past. But he had just gotten used to it.

The blonde man always called him that when the there was one subject clouding the Austrailian's mind.

Neither of them had been able to get over that day. Truth be told none of the survivors were able to. It as burned in to their minds like a grotesque sideshow.

Komui could still hear Lo Fau's screams of terror and denial when they saw the Earl. He remembered Johnny going pale as a ghost, the boy's brown eyes going wide as dinner plates.

He could imagine Rikei's face so clearly when the boy had reached down in order to comfort Lo Fau. That sense of hopelessness that had surrounded them all.

He couldn't find Johnny at fault for fleeing into the depths of Poland.

He couldn't refuse Lo Fau's request to help her obtain her money in order for her to find her family in the East.

Hell, he couldn't even blame Rikei for finding everything too much to bare. He did blame himself for leaving the alcohol near the draw with the matches.

They were surviviors, ones with scars that would never fade away. Scars that would ache for eternity.

Still, they got on with life. Thank god they did. He was able to see Lenalee and Lavi and Kanda... he was even able to set his eyes upon his own niece.

How much pain had that teenage girl gone through? How much had Lenalee been forced to bare? He didn't want to think about it.

Though he had seen it in his sister's eyes when he had seen her again. It had hurt him. Hurt him so much.

So he had attempted to make himself act just like he had. To show her that he hadn't changed. That he would always be the same.

He reached down to his once-subordinate, placing a small smile on his lips. His palm was out-stretched toward the other man.

"Let's get inside, I think that storm's only going to get worse."

Those spiky blond bangs were plastered to pale skin. Those weary blue eyes looked at his.

Finally, the smile was responded to, and Reever got up from where he had been sitting on the ground.

Komui walked beside him matching his long strides as they stepped back into the old Victorian as the sound of a kettle sang into the night air.

The rain only poured down harder.

* * *

I have been reading too much depressing books... oh well, I finally got to explain how Reever and the others managed to escape. YAY!

Well hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review people, I hope that I will get some more reviews and I won't have to go on for chapters on end with out any feedback. 8)

Please message me if there is anything confusing so that I can clear it up. Thanks a lot.

Marine :)

Character Charts: Alma Kanda

Hair Color: He has light brown hair with darker strands mixed in.

Eye Color: brown

Looks: He is fairly tall and it pretty muscular from all of the fighting that Kanda has him and Cheri going through. His hair comes down to his ears and he has fairly long bangs so that he has to brush them out his eyes quite often. You cannot see his forehead easily.

Clothes: Alma often where's short sleeved shirts and either jeans or dress slacks. There are times in the winter when he will wear a vest, though he does not like to wear jackets of any kind, seeing as he believes that they are too hot and stuffy. He says that they also restrict your movement. He carries his Innocence in his back or side pockets. Like the rest of the group, he is wearing the colors red and black at the moment.

Translations:

"_Je m'en fous."-_Like I give a fuck~French

"_Ouais." _Yeah~French


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